Skip to main content

Full text of "Masked And Anonymous - Bob Dylan"

See other formats


(MASKED AND ANONYMOUS) 



Screenplay by 

Sergei Petrov & Rene Fontaine 

Additional Dialogue by 
Will Stapleton & J.D. "Eir.peror" Jones 

Based On the Short Story 
"Los Vientos Del Destino" 
by Enrique Morales 



Revised Draft 
5 / 21/02 



(PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE) . 
FADE IN : ' 



f ?S t u 9 n‘^ la -f k ? nd white > : That iconic image of 
\ ^ te (B ? b Dy: !- an) circa 1965-1966 from over his 
shoulder, guitar in hand, harmonica around his neck, 

°5? ° f mu S si 9nature songs (eg. 'Blowin in the 
Wind , The Times They Are A Changin') for a massive 
adoring audience. 



FADE-OUT: . 
(TITLES) 
FADE '■ IN : * v 



? ews . foot \ a 9® montage: . international, social and 
political .unrest, violence, “.revolt, protest, natural 
isasters,, and. their, aftermath. Audio underneath: urgent 
overlapping news reports* in a variety of foreign 
languages:. Music: Various . (rock, rap, country, salsa, 
opera, classical, avant-garde, jazz: We hear talk radio 

and commercials, put of the montage, the camera tracks 
aown a street of a homeless encampment. Peoole living in 
elaborate configurations of boxes and under tarps lined 
up one after another against a building, landing finally 
.n a . vacant homeless man, sitting up against the wall, 
staring back at us.. We move in to his barely held 
together boom box perched by his side, as out of the 
cacophony, the voice of a radio preacher emerges from it: 



RADIO PREACHER ( V.O.) 

...Do you not believe in many gods? 

Or do you not- believe in the one true 
God? Do you believe God created the 
slave race? Ezekiel saw the wheel? 

But what kind of wheel? The cigar 
shaped hubcap things in the sky? Are 
these the gods that created mankind? 
Was he imagining that? Let me ask you 
another question, people, how. many 
people think God and the devil are the 
same? Amen. People, there are many 
gods. It is written in the Bible that 
there are many gods. Does the bible 
lie? The earth was here long before 
these gods were... it’s written in the 
Psalms, King David, "Ye are gods.” 

God did not create this earth. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



2 



2 CONTINUED: 2 

RADIO PREACHER (cont'd) 

The earth was here long before these 
Gods were. It was God created the 
people .. .Would you swear on a Bible? 

I'd swear on a Bible. What happens 
when you go to court? You swear on 
the bible. A book of treachery, 
murder and genocide. Of course I'd 
swear on that. Put it down right now . 

They ask God to sacrifice his son. 

Sacrifice? It's completely absurd, 
and I'll tell you why. The Christians 
are relinquishing nine-tenths of the 
world to the devil... The false 
Christianity that you subscribe to is 
nothing more than the cult of the 
virgin... People, it's time to 
evaluate and reflect on your lives. 

Think about it. What did Martin 
Luther King get out of the whole 
thing? A boulevard?... 



FADE OUT. 



3 EXT. OFFICE ELDG . -DAY 3 

In one continuous POV shot, we see a once regal office 
building in a changing neighborhood', in an indeterminate 
multi-ethnic city in an unnamed country, poised between 
affluence and abject poverty. We see beautifully wrought 
architecture gone to seed, done over poorly, modernized 
haphazardly. Closed . storefront s , throngs of homeless and 
those one step above homeless wandering the streets. 

We move into the lobby of this office building and see 
the once grand ornate interior left to deteriorate. 

We move to the directory. It is filled with bogus, 
dubious foreign sounding businesses, interspersed between 
obviously carelessly misspelled names and large blank 
spaces representing widespread vacancies in the building. 
Amongst the names we see: 

Uncle Sweetheart Management - 4th Floor 

We move into the elevator. The door closes. We 



CUT TO: 




INT. UNCLE SWEETHEART 7 S OFFICE - DAY 



In one continuous move, we pan across photos displayed on 
his wall. They are 'head-shots' of dubious 'talent' of 
various disciplines. (We will meet some of them later.) 
8x10 composites, signed by the talent to Uncle 
Sweetheart. Actors, magicians, animal acts, etc. The 
first. two photos seem typical ‘and good, although clearly 
old, yellowed,- dog-eared. 'As we move, however, the 
"picture" -changes.. 'One .frame. -is broken. The next 
picture' is unceremoniously ripped. Teeth are blackened 
out and mustaches and glasses are drawn on a couple. 

Eyes- are cut out- of. another. Then, a few missing 
altogether, . ; fatted rectangles on the wall where they once 
were . *• Then,- a. violent ‘looking -hole in the wall. The 
.camera, continues ‘moving, first, -hearing Uncle Sweetheart 
on /the ‘phone over, the ’photos, • then, finally landing on 
hi's desiccated countenance itself. UNCLE SWEETHEART is a 
hard. drinking,' hard living -hard ass combination of John 
the. Baptist and- 5 -P‘.T'. Barnum, who has blurred the line, 
even for himself, between salesman and evangelist. He is 
at once desperate and fatalistic with an abundance of 
charm and balls. He wears a well worn powder blue tuxedo, 
a ruffled white shirt and kick ass, ass kicked boots. He 
is wearing a shoulder holster. We see him put on his 
jacket over the holster. He takes his pistol, puts one 
bullet in the chamber, and places it in the holster, 
concealed by his jacket. Uncle Sweetheart is on the 
phone. At once, orating, berating, seducing, cajoling, 
goofing, and challenging. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
(on the phone) 

...Honey, 'you don't have to scream at 
me-.- I." hear you fine at normal decibel 

levels 1 I got a volume control on 
•this phone .. .Honey, this here's a 
benefit concert. Benef it . . . That ' s 
right. Bigger than Live-Aid, or Farm- 
Aid or whatever ... if you don't want a 
piece of this action, then you ain't 
■human... I'm not making a dime on the 
deal, I'm just trying to feed sortie : 
starving children, is all. You can't 
get behind that, you can live with 
yourself, god bless ya, although I 
doubt he. will... Who takes care of the 
sick? We're not committing ourselves 
to any formal point of view. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




4 



4 CONTINUED: 4 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

The more you know the more you 
suf fer. .. Strong words alone don't 
influence the Senate. It takes daring 
and outrageous acts... Oh, how post- 
modern of you. Thinking is getting in 
the way of your life. No gambler ever 
won anything by thinking... 

He hangs up and begins rummaging through his cluttered 
desktop and overstuffed briefcase. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

(singing) 

I put a spell on you, 'cause you're 
mine . . . 

Finally, he finds what he's looking for, a scrap of 
paper just as the song climaxes. He is very satisfied 
with his performance. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Ha! I know where everything is... 

Angle on scrap: The name "Jack Fate" is scribbled on it, 
along with a phone number. He hurriedly shoves it in his 
pocket as he hears movement outside his door. He quickly 
takes his seat and tries to act nonchalant. We see the 
shadow of two men, PERCY and BLUNT, loon in his office 
door window. Then, suddenly, they enter. They are 
serious men with 'an agenda. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Oh, it's the dark princes, the 
democratic republicans. Working for a 
barbarian who can scarcely spell his 

own name. Hey, the only thing more 
pleasant than seeing you would be 
seeing the grim reaper himself. You 
gentlemen are about to make a hideous 
choice. You two are pitiable figures 
weeping with blood, and it' s gonna be 
your blood. Are you aware gentlemen, 
that this is all a play? 

They wait until he's finished. But they are not really 
listening. More importantly, they care little for what 
he has to say. 



PERCY 

We don't want paper money. We want 
gold and silver. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED; (2) ; 



4 



• * UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Dark glasses, huh? Usually I like to 
see the eyes of who I'm dealing with. 

Okay listen,' Uncle Sweetheart is 
organizing a -benefit concert. A 
benefit concerts To help the 
children. The real victims of the 
revolution! However, I will be 
personally siphoning the majority of 
the funds into the kitty of the 
-fattest cat of all. . Me! And you 
-gentlemen will be paid in full. 

' PERCY . 

• -When?- . * '■ . ■* 

■ ' -UNCLE' SWEETHEART * 

•- Definitely in this lifetime. 

• * / , “ 

. ■ • ? ; . blunt •’ . ’ 

* • ■ .-.You .got- the mdney, or not? 

‘ ' . “ UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I understand you' re not accustomed to 
staring into -the face of God. 

■ PERCY 

Shut up. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I can't. As long as I keep talking, I 
know I'm still alive. . 

The ■ two men grab Uncle Sweetheart. 

PERCY 

There's no use talking to you. 

BLUNT 

There's no point listening, either. 

And with that, the two men proceed to beat the crap out 
of Uncle Sweetheart. They throw him to the ground and 
kick and punch him unmercilessly as he lies unseen but 
not unheard behind his massive desk. As they continue to 
pummel him, we pan to the pictures, on the wall, which 
vibrate with each blow, until one of them falls and 
breaks on the floor. Finally, arbitrarily, the two men 
seem satisfied. 



(CONTINUED) 




4 



CONTINUED: (3) 



4 



PERCY 

Are you still alive? 

There is a beat, then: 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
(weakly) 

Yup. 

Percy and Blunt exit as we 



CUT TO: 



5 EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY 5 

It's an imposing building that has seen better days, a 
place where a secret broadcast could rake place. An old 
TV or radio station, or perhaps temple, or other house of 
worship. Seemingly abandoned or close to it. Perhaps it 
seems like one thing from the street, but once inside, is 
something quite different. 

We follow NINA VERONICA, the hard charging, cynical, yet 
secretly optimistic executive supervising the project as 
she moves through the soundstage, followed by two 
weasly, of f icious men, DION and BACCHUS. Past banners 
heralding the upcoming benefit concert, sets being built, 
cables laid, a makeshift stage being constructed and art 
directed. Past a makeshift tent city on the soundstage, 
a refugee camp, bazaar, the soundstage, not only the 
location of this concert, but a sort of self contained 
post modern village, like one might see in the Middle 
East , Africa, or a Grateful Dead concert. Nina is stuck 
between the rock and the hard place, and knows that she 
always will be. Her very appearance, hard, sexual, yet 
intimidating and untouchable, belies the inner 
ambivalence she is loath to reveal. 

NINA 

...Remind Lucius that it's a benefit. 

We're trying to raise money for 
medical aid for the families of those 
dispossessed by the war... 

DION 

What war? 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



Nina, clearly has ho respect for these two men. And they 
are in no position to defy or confront her. This is her 
domain. ' 

NINA 

What war? Are you kidding me? All 
the wars. The futility of war. I'm 
not going to debate semantics with 
you. It's real. It's beyond 
phenomena. There's shooting and 
-killing. How do you define a war, in 
■this day and age? • 

DION * 

-What are • they fighting about? 

‘ -• ‘ . 7 -NINA.' ' .-V . V 

• v I‘-don't. know'- what they're fighting 

* ; about'. Do the’-Hindus; Jews, Arabs, 

■ ' -Irish,; Muslims; -Buddhists, know what 

'■.'-.•.they are .fight'ing about? The last 
.thing anybody khows is what they're 
' fighting about. It's ‘a battle between 
this world and the next world. One 
God against ' another . Religious/ 

Economic wars caused by pride, ethnic 
pride. Nobody knows that anymore. 

The last person who actually knew that 
was killed years ago. They're all 
religious wars. Look, we've got dead 
aliens stacked up in warehouses. What 
else do you need to know? We're 
talking about a war with no 
technological spin-off. Where the 
fighting is over a small piece of mud, 
the gateway of the afterlife. The 
burial- site of Arthur and Guinevere. 

, It's an uneasy puzzle to solve, 
gentlemen. 

BACCHUS 

So, why a benefit concert? 

NINA 

Well, how else do you get rock stars 
to do television? Either give 'em a 
cause or give 'em an award... 

She stops and stares down Dion and Bacchus. She is 
clearly done with them. 



(CONTINUED) 




6 



CONTINUED: (2) 



6 



They get the message and awkwardly exit. She pivots to 
two CREW GUYS, who have been eyeing her lasciviously. 



NINA 

Hey, big boy, you getting your eyes 
full? 

They avert their gaze and quickly return to work. 

She enters her trailer which serves as both an office and 
makeshift home, as the phone is ringing. She picks it up 
as she checks what's left of her paltry excuse for a 
wardrobe, changing her shirt, smelling her clothes, etc. 

NINA (cont'd) 

Lucius, why are you hassling me?... I 
told you! We're already in too deep 
to make that kind of change on such 
short notice ... It ' 11 work out. It 
always works out. Even when it 
doesn't work out, that's a form of 
working out... Don't threaten me with 
pulling the plug. This is about 
intuition. How we look at the world 
is who we are. We're bound by an 
honor code here. This is about some 
weird plague... You think this is about 
making money? This isn't about making 
money. Money-craving is a 
disease ... Don' t tell me the definition 
of a man. - A man isn't so much what he 
dees as what he's allowed to do... All 
right. I'll keep it in mind. 

Uncle Sweetheart climbs into the trailer without knocking 
but with great difficulty, showing seme of the effects of 
the beating. 



NINA (cont'd) 

I gotta go. 

(she hangs up) 

What happened to you? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

What happened to me? How far back do 
you want to go? 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED': (3).* 

' NINA*. 

Where's my headliner? I just got off 
the phone with the network. They want 
something -to promote. They need 
something to promote. They have some 
questions about your ability to 
perform services due.' 

He looks around for something'.-' A drink? She stops him 
from snooping: He. pulls out his bottle of booze. 

' '*■ UNCLE -SWEETHEART 

■■ And i suppose -'you told 'em I was a 

• showbiz stud, : that you have total 

• 'mystical knowledge and faith in me and 
. absolutely; no' questions about my 
*'•.*'* ability to' perform services ‘due. 

\ ; ■ . ... '• : \ " Nina;. • ' 

. ’Yea, something l-ike that. So, who are 
. /" -we -getting?-' Are- we getting any 

# 'important people? You know, 
headliners, top of the line 
performers.. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

.Maybe. We'll see. Ya never know. 

. 'NINA 

Should I believe you? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Of course. 

NINA 

Are we or are we not screwed? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I'm not. Are you? I don't think you 
are getting screwed. That's your 
problem. 

He offers her a swig. She pushes past him. 

NINA ■ 

I can't believe you're going to turn 
this disaster into a seduction. 

Uncle Sweetheart is seized by a thought. 



(CONTINUED) 




10 



6 CONTINUED: (4) 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Is this place bugged? 

She begins to exit trailer. At the door: 

NINA 

Uncle Sweetheart, an entire society is 
counting on you to raise some money 
for them. Victims of circumstance. 

The victims of the world. We're 
fighting a war here, in case you 
didn't know. 

She exits: He follows her out onto the soundstage floor 
where the work continues. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

War? Don't tell me about war. I 
fought in the grand daddy of all wars. 

The war to end all wars. The one that 
ripped the heart out of things... 

Look, honey, I'm on your side. 

NINA 

My side? Everyone I've ever met I can 
look in the eye and tell what side 
he's on, so why don't we stop the 
spiffy chatter. I'm on my way to a 
meeting with the network. They have a 
much greater reach and resonance then 
even they themselves might suspect. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

For the love of humanity we must limit 
their power. 

NINA 

You don't take any of this seriously. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I am taking it seriously. Look at me, 
being all serious. Here's the thing. 

I don't think Sting or Springsteen or 
Billy Joel or McCartney are going to 
work out. But I have a surprise for 
you . . . 



(CONTINUED) 



11 



6 CONTINUED: (5)* 6 

He pulls -out the crumpled number of Jack Fate, and shows 
it to Nina. He tries to sell it with a smile. She's not 
buying. We hear the sounds of distant thunder. 

DISSOLVE TO: 

7 FLASHBACK #1 - APPROXIMATELY 1941 7 

They are edited together, eight millimeter home movies 
(perhaps coupled with stills, candid shots and official 
portraits). A‘ . MAN and a WOMAN, early in their marriage, 
although hardly young. He -seems 40ish. The woman, 
slightly .younger. . Theyiare -proper-looking people, 
officious, even somewhat, stiff ; in front of the camera, 
the. smiles - artificial-. . They .wave awkwardly, from the 
terrace .or -veranda, *'or courtyard of what seems like an 
."opulent-, : palatial estate. -’‘(Think of those candid home 
’ movies' of; Hitler -and Eva Braun.) 

'• •• - JACK FATE (V.O.) 

.-. They were, happy once, although it's 
, ‘hard to imagine now. Everything in 
their lives was infused with hope and 
.meaning: Every thought, every 

emotion, still pure. It seems so long 
ago now. . . 



CUT TO: 

8 FLASHBACK #2. - APPROXIMATELY 1946 8 

The. father, ' cavorting awkwardly with his five year old 
son, in front of and quite obviously for the cameras. A 
photo op. Think JFK and John John. Once again, the 
technology is probably 8 mm, coupled with a combination 
of candid and -posed stills. 

JACK FATE (V.O.) 

...Once he was a real father, full of 
love, compassion and forgiveness. 

That didn't last too long. After 
awhile, being a father didn't amount 
to more than an official title... He 
had lived a hard life, survived 
gunfights, duels and warfare. Once he 
beat his assassins with a cane after 
they misfired from point blank range. 



CUT TO: 



12 



9 FLASHBACK #3 - APPROXIMATELY 1952 9 

Same combination of technologies and techniques. This 
time, it's the proud mother and her embarrassed eleven 
year old son. She tries to show him affection: a hug, a 

kiss on the head. He reluctantly accepts it. Again, 
some candid, some posed and planned. 

JACK FATE (V.O.) 

...My mother tried to love me, but I 
think she was trying to kill me. I 
don't think she recognized me as her 
son. It was like I'd become a symbol 
of everything that had gone wrong in 
her life, in her world... I can tell 
you one thing. She never loved him 
either. She married him on the 
rebound. She had so many suitors, 
they didn't have enough chairs to 
accommodate them all... 



FADE IN: 

10 EXT. HOLDING TANK - PRESENT - DAY 10 

It is a facility not originally intended to hold 
prisoners, but now forced to do so. The men, of various 
ethnic backgrounds and political idealogies. Amongst 
them, JACK FATE, a troubadour, a poet, an outsider, he's 
seen better days and worse. A GUARD approaches and 
addresses Jack. 



GUARD 

You're getting out Jack, somebody 
sprung you. 

JACK FATE 

Must be my lucky day. Who would do 
that? 



GUARD 

Some angels must have intervened on 
your behalf. Maybe a bunch of people 
put their savings together. Hell, I 
don't know. 

JACK FATE 

I ain't felt free in a long time. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



GUARD 

Keeping people from being free is a 
big business. 

JACK FATE. 

What's going on out there? 

GUARD 

I don't know. It's a very complex 
society, that we're living in. Lotta 
■ people . moving, around, movin' the way 

• fear makes ■ them move. Lotta severed 
limbs and raped ‘women. It's the same 

* old parade. ^This time though Jack, if 
. ‘ . ' you wanna ride - in it ‘you better pay a 

’ ■ - * ' ‘ fee,. ■ . *' ■■■ 

• V-.. V- ’ •* .- • JACK FATE 

‘■IJ Ml. keep it in- mind. 

An -inmate who sits ‘.nearby approaches Jack. 

INMATE #1 

Where you going. Jack? 



10 



• JACK FATE 

Roswell . 

INMATE #1 

Yeah. Used to be it was the devil 
who'd molest you all night and leave 
Rosemary's Baby as a calling card. 

Now, it's the alien. Well, say hello 
. from me to the mysteriously dead. 

Jack nods his. head and is led out, as the inmate returns 
to his position. 



CUT TO: 

INT. NETWORK CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY 11 

Nina is being chastised by an intimidating executive, 
LUCIUS, as they .sit around a long conference table with 
other network executives, including Lucius' equally 
intimidating main flunkies, VALENTINE and NESTOR, 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: 



LUCIUS 

I don't understand what went on here. 
Where are the headliners? Where are 
the big waves? The big names? Where 
are the superstars? 

VALENTINE 

What's to understand? There's nothing 
to understand. They're not here and 
there not coming. 

NESTOR 

You mean to tell me, after all this, 
we wind up with Jack Fate? 

VALENTINE 
Jack Nobody? Why? 

NESTOR 

That guy was over before he started. 
NINA 

. Are you finished? 

LUCIUS 

We're a.lJL finished! 

NINA 

We ultimately did not have the money 
in the budget to attract a big name. 

LUCIUS 
You said we did. 

NINA 

Well, then, I was wrong. I'm sorry. 
Lucius rises and approaches Nina menacingly. 

LUCIUS 

You're sorry? Something's beginning 
to smell. It's giving off a bad odor. 
The fumes are choking me. This isn't 
grade school. You're not apologizing 
to your teacher for talking out of 
turn. We can make all kinds of ugly 
things happen. I can have you killed 
for the price of a cup of coffee. 
Everybody in this room would look the 
other way. 



16 



11 


CONTINUED: (3) 


LUCIUS 








Plug . 


There is no 


plug 


. Show me a 




plug 


and I'll pull 


it. 


There' s no 



plug. There's no socket. There's no 
wall . 

VALENTINE 

If I go down. I'm taking part of the 
wall with me. Ha, ha, ha. 

No one shares his laughter. Chagrined, he tries to change 
the subject. 



VALENTINE (cont'd) 

By the way. Jack Fate, he's not a 
blood relative is he? 

i 

LUCIUS 

Shut up, Valentine. 

VALENTINE 

We should get out now. Wash our 
hands . 

Lucius, Valentine and Nestor rise to exit. 

LUCIUS 

You think you're getting off cheap 
with Jack Fate. But believe me, the 
price will be steep. 

NINA 

We'll look for some cuts in the 
budget . 



LUCIUS 

Cuts? You need amputations. If you 
wanna suffer agony for someone else's 
happiness, you do it on your own time. 

Now go away. 

They exit, along with the flunkies, leaving Nina alone. 
She looks around, uncertain as to which way to get out of 
this place. 



CUT TO: 



15 



11 CONTINUED: *(2.)~ • 11 



For the first time, Nina is intimidated. 

NINA 

Lucius, for .god's sake, what are you 
saying? 

LUCIUS 

Don't talk to me about god. I'm 
talkin' about god the destroyer, not 
■ • god the savior. 

' NINA 

Can we stop. kidding around? 

; . \ ‘ ... LUCIUS 

Why? Why should. I?. I can do whatever 
.’ . I 'want. - We're .not accountable to 

/ • anybody. We. cross lines. We bend 

. truths This is a business. You 

• • better get that info your pretty 

• little head .and '-stamp it on your 
brain 



NINA 

You know, this concert is supposed to 
be about helping people in trouble. 

LUCIUS 

I'm in trouble. You're in trouble. 
We're in trouble. 

NINA 

Well, maybe we can get somebody to 
sing for us.. 

LUCIUS 

Apparently not. You've got no pull. 
You know charity is not about losing 
money. Charity is like any other 
business. It has to show a profit, 
some kind of profit, or it doesn't go 
on. Now, you might find that ironic, 
but I don't. It makes perfect sense 
to me. 

VALENTINE 

I think we should pull the plug. 



(CONTINUED) 




18 



12 CONTINUED: 



12 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

You're only worried about your legacy, 
honey. That's all you've ever cared 
about. I can help. I have a personal 
relationship with death. Death is my 
dancing partner. 

NINA 

It doesn't matter at this point who 
your dancing partner is. The things 
you need to say are not the things I 
need to hear. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

What are you fighting against, anyway? 
Why are you so opposed to divine 
judgment? 



NINA 

Who says I was? 

Undaunted, he sidles up to her at the mirror. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I can read right through you. You're 
a woman with a man's heart. And I'm 
going to treat you like a man. 

NINA 

You don't understand. When they heard 
Jack Fate's name mentioned there was 
complete silence. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Like reverence. Like prayer. 

NINA 

I was doing the praying. That they 
wouldn't cancel the whole thing. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Don't, they understand who Jack Fate 
is? 

She pivots around him again. 

NINA 

Nobody knows who he is anymore. 

Nobody cares. He doesn't make 
records. He doesn't tour. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




12 



INT. NINA'S TRAILER ~ DAY 

Nina, cramped in her trailer, harangues a lascivious 
Uncle Sweetheart, in a dynamic that resembles Groucho 
Marx and Margaret Dumont. 



NINA 

You have put me in a very bad 
-position. 

Uncle Sweetheart moves .in on her. 

’ .UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I. -can put you .in a very good position. 

• . ’ I know ‘a lot of them. • I bet you do, 

tool ■ Why don't we go back to your 
place ? •' 

• -.NINA' ’• 

And do what? ’ . 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I could teach you farming in your 
living room. 

NINA 

You know. Uncle Sweetheart, I'm not 
your -straight man. 

She pushes past him. He follows behind, attempting to 
kiss her neck. 

‘UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I'm a 'straight man. Isn't that what 
you're looking for? 

NINA 

(as she resists) 

What was I thinking? I know what I 
was thinking. I was thinking, "I'm 
not going to discuss this with you." 

You're not going to help. You're 
gonna hurt me. 

But, she hurts him instead, delivering an elbow to the 
solar plexus leaving him doubled over as she cooly fixes 
herself up in a mirror. 



(CONTINUED) 



19 



12 



CONTINUED 



( 2 ) ' / •* 

NINA (cont'd) 

He doesn't do interviews. 
’ do ’anything ! 



He doesn't 



12 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

He don't have- to. He's a legend. 

Does Jesus have to walk on water twice 
to make a point? And, he's virtually 
' free.- Who else can you say that 
about? 

She moves. .to door and readies to exit. 

■* • -■ NINA:./ * 

-.virtually free; If he's virtually 
.free,*he'.s the -only one I know... 

*' ■ .UNCLE 'SWEETHEART , 

\ * You. ‘know, ‘ T- thought I saw a hubcap in 
. ■ ” * • the., sky last, night . . • 

She. exits He follows. * 

. » , . # . # 

• / NINA 

Oh, did you. Maybe they were just 
bright lights from a Japanese squid 
boat., 

• On the soundstage floor he pulls out his bottle and 
unscrews the cap. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Let's try the kickapoo cure. 



NINA - 
(disgusted) 

You're like a Trojan horse pregnant 
with Greeks. 

She leaves him alone. He drinks to her. 



CUT TO: 



13 EXT. BUS STOP 

A local, PROSPERO, sits and waits for the bus. Jack 
Fate, with a small bag and a guitar, 30 ms him. 



13 



JACK FATE 

Hey, Prospero. What's happening? 



(CONTINUED) 




20 



13 CONTINUED: 



13 



PROSPERO 

You missed it. Two eagles just killed 
a pregnant rabbit. 

JACK FATE 

Rabbit must have done something. 

Where you headin' ? 

PROSPERO 

I'm going down to west Florida. Got a 
brother-in-law down there. A butcher 
looking for a delivery boy. My 
brother-in-law, he's a true friend. 

One of the purest gifts from god. 

JACK FATE 

It's good to have at least one true 
friend. 



PROSPERO 

(he notices Jack' s guitar and 
bag) 

You leaving town? 

JACK FATE 

Yeah . 

PROSPERO 

By choice, this time? 

JACK FATE 
Not really. 

PROSPERO 

Nothing ever really is. Where ya 
heading? 

Jack motions north. 

JACK FATE 

That way. 

PROSPERO 

That's a good direction. I've done 
that a lot. One of my favorites. You 
know what else is good? That way. 

Prospero motions south. 



(CONTINUED) 




21 



13 CONTINUED: (2)' : . 13 



■ JACK. FATE 
Maybe .next time. 

PROSPERO 

You -think there's going to be a next 
time? 

JACK FATE 
For you, maybe. 

We hear the rumble of the oncoming -bus . 

•* • PROSPERO 

.•’ You ever coming back? 

. \ _ ' ■;* " . . JACK FATE 

■ •■I did come back". .** . , 

* , . ■ 0 « S B - 

With- that; -the -bus, arrives ,\ Jack Fate gets on. 

■ ■ *. •/' . - '• V cut to: 

* ' ' _ ... r 

14 INT. BUS DAY 14 

It is a rickety but colorful bus filled with 
peasants/farmers and the disenfranchised. They carry 
their children, their belongings, their livestock. Jack 
.fits right in and yet stands apart. He climbs on and 
addresses the BUS DRIVER. 

JACK FATE 

Does this bus go across the border? 

BUS DRIVER 

No, sir, you're going the wrong way. 

JACK FATE 

OK. 

Ignoring the befuddled driver. Jack Fate takes a seat. 

The mystified Bus Driver presses on. 

CUT TO: 

15 * INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE - DAY 15 

We angle on TOM FRIEND'S desk. There are numerous awards 
• and citations for journalistic excellence, but they look 
old and worn and frayed. 



(CONTINUED) 



22 



15 CONTINUED: 15 

We see old photos of Tom Friend, smiling, happy with 
three different women, a dog, and a boy. Then, we see Tom 
Friend himself, a burnt out journalist, numb to all the 
horrors, except of his own existence, sits reading a 
magazine. When he's finished, he rises. As he does, we 
see he has an electronic monitor strapped to his ankle. 

He walks through the newsroom to the EDITOR'S office. 

The EDITOR sits at his desk, working and drinking, inside 
a cubicle. He holds the first edition. The headline 
reads: Transvestite Jumps To His Death. Outside around 
him is a nest of journalistic activity. Tom Friend 
enters . 

EDITOR 

What' re you working on? 

TOM FRIEND 

You know, I'm working on a few things. 

EDITOR 

Like what? Give me an idea. 

TOM FRIEND 
I don' t know. . . 

EDITOR 

Exactly, you don't know. 

TOM FRIEND 

What are you drinking? 

EDITOR 

What am I drinking? I'm drinking my 
life away. What's the difference? 

TOM FRIEND 

No difference. It looked ltke you 
stopped . 



EDITOR 

The doctors made me stop for awhile. 
You want some? It will make you 
forget that you're poor. 

TOM FRIEND 

Yeah, but I'm not gonna have any. 
EDITOR 

Well let me know if you change your 
mind. 



(CONTINUED) 






15 CONTINUED: (2) - 

K 

' TOM FRIEND 
What's up? 

EDITOR 

What's up? I got reporters wounded. 
Held captive. Held hostage. I got 
two reporters dead. I got reporters 
on the front lines. I got reporters 
undercover. With the- insurgents . 
With the counter-insurgents. I got 
-people inside -the capitol'. In the 
■office of the President, himself-- 

.TOM. FRIEND ■ ; 

•I've ’done all 1 that. 

-■ ‘ . ' - EDITOR ■ 

*.\* .People .are 'still dying out there. 

' * * . TOM .-.FRIEND 

.-.people have; always died. So what's 
•new? You 'can' t c abolish death. 

' Writing about it doesn't change 
anything. 



23 



15 



EDITOR 

You used -to believe it did. 

. TOM FRIEND 

I can't write that. You don't write 
that. You just rewrite it. Over and 
over again. Everybody's doing the 
killing now. Everybody's doing the 
dying. You cari' t tell the difference. 
We're all* under the sentence of death. 
What else is new. 

EDITOR 

Where does that leave you? Are you a 
journalist or a novelist? 

TOM FRIEND 

Same thing out here. What's this all 
about?- I got things to do. I got my 
awards, I got my scars. I got nothing 
to prove to you. Look at you. You 
live peacably. You live a private 
life, while below you the earth reeks 
with desolation and runs with blood. 
(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




24 



15 CONTINUED: (3) 

TOM -FRIEND (cont'd) 

You're so high and mighty with your 
printing press. You've done 
unspeakable things. You've seen 
unspeakable things. You've caused 
unspeakable things. For what, for 
business men to enrich themselves? 

EDITOR 

Now wait a minute. Right and wrong 
are anything but black and white. 

TOM FRIEND 
For you maybe. 

EDITOR 

You don't realize how good you have 
it. You're accountable to nobody and 
everybody knows it. The whole 
civilized world shakes in its boots 
when you come. And you know why? 

You can make heroes out of bums and 
villains out of good upstanding people 
with the stroke of your pen. 

You've got the right to slander 
anybody, assassinate anybody's 
character. You can tell any kind of 
story you want and you never have to 
reveal your sources. It's called 
freedom of the press, first amendment 
rights. You're a reporter and a 
reporter looks up to no one. Remember 
that . . . 

(then) 

You're like a son to me. Why do you 
hate me? 



TOM FRIEND 
What do you want? 

EDITOR 

There's a benefit concert. 

TOM FRIEND 
A benefit concert? 

EDITOR 

Yeah for medical relief. It's going 
to be broadcast on the network. The 
network is government controlled. I 
wanna know if it's a PR thing. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED': (4).' ' 

EDITOR (cont'd) 

■ i wann^' know if they're trying to make 
themselves look compassionate. I 
wanna know .if it' s some kind of setup. 

• Or if itf s some nefarious ploy to weed 
out the. rebels. There's a story 
there. 

TOM FRIEND 

Come on. That's no story. That's 
every story. That xs. the story. 

. , EDITOR . 

Make it -into something. Or, make 
’ sgnething up- • 

. TOM "FRIEND'- 
.(pause) ’. 

- .. How much time. do. I have to do this? I 
‘ . ..don't have.'a lot 6f time. , 

■ EDITOR ; . 

... A lot- of time?/; Lincoln delivered the 
■ ■ .-.••immortal Gettysburg Address in under 

five minutes . ‘Don't tell me about 
.time-. • 

Pause. 



EDITOR 

OK, here's something else. . .there' s 
only one performer. 

TOM FRIEND 

Only one? 

EDITOR- 
Yeah, Jack .Fate. 

Tom absorbs this information. This has clearly more 
significance then he anticipated. He is thrown by the 
revelation then: 

TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

OK... I changed my mind. 

EDITOR 
About what. 

TOM FRIEND 

About what? About everything. 



(CONTINUED) 



26 



15 CONTINUED: (5) 



15 



EDITOR 

About everything? 

Editor holds up his liquor bottle, invitingly. Tcm 
Friend, takes it and pours a drink. 

TOM FRIEND 
Everything . . . 

The Editor gives Tom the key to unlock his ankle monitor. 

CUT TO: 



16 INT. BUS - NIGHT 

Jack Fate and a SOLDIER sit together. The soldier 
speaks. As he does, we move down the aisle of the bus, 
looking at the busdriver, the passengers, their faces, 
their hope and disappointment and resignation, then out 
the window at the squalor and remnants of violence and 
war . 



SOLDIER 

I'm from a small village in the 
mountains. We don't even have a 
doctor. So I joined the rebels. I 
didn't know what the answers were. I 
still don't. I just knew you had to 
take sides. You had to fight. There 
were no sidelines. There were no 
innocent bystanders. Only the dead 
and the living. Pretty soon, I saw 
the rebel movement was corrupt. The 
leadership were lying to the people. 
They wanted to replace the old 
government with a new government which 
was just as bad. They were taking- 
money, making promises they had no 
intention of keeping. A small army of 
counter-revolutionaries grew to battle 
the rebels in the mountains where the 
government forces were ineffective. I 
changed sides. No one ever . noticed . 
This new movement was fighting for the 
truth the rebels supposedly believed 
in but really didn't. Then I realized 
that this movement was funded by the 
very government I wanted to topple. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



27 



16 



CONTINUED 



% ■ 

SOLDIER (cont'd) 

By that .time, I. realized I didn't want 
’the' .government to fall. It would only 
he replaced with anarchy. I started 
believing in preserving the republic, 
so I- joined the government forces. I 
fought bravely for the cause. 

Suffered wounds, sickness. My own 
family -turned on me. Disowned me. I 
tried to explain, but .they wouldn't 
listen;. Then one day, we wiped out a 
small village. We were told something 
about rebels having ’infiltrated. But 
it-' was a- lie. .:.The' men were already 
■'dead or old. All that was left were 
women .and ‘.children. It ‘was my village. 
I 'couldn't .participate . I ran. I was 
caiight and -dishonorably discharged. 
Now,.- I'm returning to my village, a 
• village 'that' .may .no , longer even exist, 
■'disabled, dishonored; shamed. 



16 



The camera, moves past .Jack, listening to the soldier, 

face, a mask of loss and pain. He offers Jack ? 

drink. Jack Fate declines. The soldier offers Jack some 
pills. Jack declines again. 



SOLDIER (cont'd) 

When I sleep, my dreams become my 
reality. If only I would live in my 
dreams.* Do you ever dream? 



JACK FATE 

Yeah, I dream. In my dreams I'm 
walking through 'fire with intense 
heat, but I don't pay any attention to 
my dreams . 

The soldier ’takes his pills with the liquor and goes to 
sleep, as we' 

DISSOLVE TO: 



17 INT . TOM FRIEND'S APARTMENT - NIGHT 



17 



Ton Friend's woman, PAGAN LACE, kneels before a small 
shrine. It includes candles, fruit, small totems and 
fetishes, jars of liquid, red and yellow, a damaged bust 
of a woman and a painting of the president of this ritual 

unnamed country in military garb. : In a *® pe gi^counts 
of sorts she counts, she washes, she pours, she counts 

again while she prays. 



(CONTINUED) 




28 



17 CONTINUED: 



17 



PAGAN LACE 

Lord, how are they increased that . 
trouble me. Many are they that rise 
up against me... Arise O'Lord: Save me, 
oh my god, for thou hast smitten all 
nine enemies upon the cheek bene, t ou 
hast broken the teeth of the 
ungodly . . . 

Tom Friend enters and kneels beside Pagan Lace^ He is 
silent and sullen. She ignores him at first until 
completes her ritual. xhen. 



PAGAN LACE 

What's the matter, Tom? You look 
disturbed . 



TOM FRIEND 

Yea, 'cause there's always something 
the matter, right? 

PAGAN LACE 

I don't want there to be. 

TOM FRIEND 

You don't understand. You can't stay 
honest out there even if you wanted 
to . 



PAGAN LACE 

What do you mean? What' s changed? 

TOM FRIEND 

The pervert is the top man now. Man 
of the hour. 

She becomes distracted, listening to the voice inside her 
head. Annoyed, He starts to pack. Then: 

PAGAN LACE 

What did you say?... Where are you 
going? 

TOM FRIEND 

I'm gonna be gone for a couple of 
days. Maybe you shouldn't be here 
when I get back. 



(CONTINUED) 






29 



17 CONTINUED: ; (2)' . .. 



17 



. *. • PAGAN -LACE 

But 'I want to be with you. We can 

have a good time. 



TOM 'FRIEND 

Good times don't last long. 



PAGAN LACE 

Why are you making everything so 
.tragic?'. . 



TOM FRIEND 

.-.Tragic? What do you know about 
tragic? Every period in history has 
< ‘ bee.n - more 'or, less tragic. 



He continue? packing'. .'He adjusts his -boot, and we see a 
knife' protruding from it. Pagan drifts off, re P® ating , 
the prayer- to" hers61f , mumbling, lips moving. Then, she 
is seized by a new thought.;, as if she's been told to ask 
this question.; 



PAGAN LACE 

Tom, if you had to kill somebody, how 
would you do it? With a gun, a knife, 
or a club? 



TOM FRIEND 
With my bare hands. 



He embraces her. 

TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

Look, it's an overcrowded world, it's 
hard to get to the top. There s a 
long line at the elevator. 



PAGAN 

It doesn't matter, Tom. We'll take 
the stairs. Let me go with you. 



As they embrace, Tom opens an ornate box on a dresser. 
Inside - is a pistol and hypodermic needle ■ _. 

Pagan Lace on the neck, like a vampire. She fully 
capitulates, as we: 






CUT TO: 



30 



18 INT; BUS - NEXT DAY 

Jack Fate and Soldier, both asleep. On the bus, somebody 
has a radio. The bus suddenly comes to a stop. There is 
a commotion outside. Through the window, we see a group 
of armed men harassing some villages and blocking the 
path of the bus. The two men awaken and observe. 

JACK FATE 

What's going on? Who are these guys? 

SOLDIER 

The Counter-revolutionaries. They've 
stopped the bus . 

JACK FATE 

Where are they from? 

SOLDIER 

Rome, Paris, Vienna, Moscow. Who 
knows? They're from wherever they're 
from. 



JACK FATE 

What now? What do they want with the 
bus? 



SOLDIER 

Anything they can get away with. They 
might just harass us and let us go. 

They might kill us or force us to join 
them. They might drug us. Who knows. 

They don't trust anybody, not even 
their commander. 

We see the soldiers harassment has intensified. 

SOLDIER (cont'd) 

Violence is the only tool they know, 
the only one in their box. You can't 
build a house with only one tool. 

I've got that tool in my box, too. 

I'll show them. 

He gets up, gets his gun from his bag and jumps off the 
bus. We stay on the face of Jack Fate. He hears angry 
words exchanged. The bus abruptly takes off. Jack Fate 
looks out the rear window as the rebels assassinate the 
soldier in a flurry of gunfire. Jack, might wince a bit 
reflexively at the sound of the gunfire. 



(CONTINUED) 




31 



18 CONTINUED:' 18 

The women and children shriek. But Jack's reaction is 
not of fear dr surprise. He's come to expect this m the 
world he lives in. - 

’ BUS DRIVER 

They. have no ideology. They'd push 
both Jesus and Judas aside. . . 

As the bus rambles on, we 

CUT TO: 

19 INT. BAR - DAY ‘ 19 

BOBBY -CUPID, young,- volatile, reckless, fearless, 

■ foolish, devotee of .'Jack -Fate, his main and possibly only 
remaining apostle is. tending bar. ‘ It's early in the 

.morning and there' s , one DRUNK drinking. ■ 

* ■' * ; BOBBY CUPID. j 

• Sun's coming up..‘ 

■ • ' 'DRUNK ! 

,Big shit. It comes up. every day. I 

Bother me when- the sun don't cone up. 

BOBBY- CUPID 
I'll do that. . . 

Bobby Cupid walks away. 

DRUNK 

Hey, do I need to ring a bell to get a 
refill? You see my glass is empty. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Your glass is always empty. And so is 

the space on the counter where your \ 

money's supposed to be. 



DRUNK 

Kid, you keep this shit up and you 
ain't gonna make it to middle age. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Put your money on the counter. 

DRUNK 

I ain't kidding. 

(CONTINUED) 

j 



32 



19 CONTINUED: 



19 



BOBBY CUPID 
No, of course not. 

DRUNK 

Tell me, I'd like to know who's 
presiding over this slaughterhouse -- 
you or me? 

BOBBY CUPID 

Look, tough guy. If you want the 
world to be flat, it's flat. If you 
want it to be round, it can be round. 

DRUNK 

You son of a bitch. I know a lot of 
things . 



BOEBY CUPID 

The more you know, the nore you'll 
suffer . 



DRUNK 

You got that right. 

Phone rings. Bobby Cupid answers it. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Hello... who? Jack Fate!... hell yeah, 

I'll accept the charges ... Hey ... What ' s 
that?... What an I doing? ... You' re 
shitting me. You're out of the can? 

...You're gonna perform?... A benefit 
concert? OK... No, I think I can get 
away... I got some sick time coming to 
me... Shit, I'll be there before you 
hang up... Oh, yeah, watch me. Since 
when did you start doing benefits from 
the lockup? 

Bobby hangs up and prepares to leave. 

BOBBY CUPID (cont'd) 

Hey, man. No hard feelings. But I'm 
sure the next guy that serves you a 
drink will draw the same conclusions. 

The drunk blocks Bobby Cupid's path. 

DRUNK 

I've had enough out of you. 

(CONTINUED) 



33 



CONTINUED:' (2) ; * „ 1 

The Drunk pulls a gun and lunges at Bobby Cupid. Bobby 
grabs a large birdcage with the large bird still inside 
it 'and smacks the drunk upside the head. The bird 
SQUAWKS and flies around inside the cage. In short order 
the man is down and out. Bobby Cupid looks up. There s 
no one in the bar. He throws on his snakeskin jacket and 
walks out into the harsh sunlight. 



CUT TO: 



INT. -SOUNDSTAGE - ‘DAY 

Two crew guys working- on the stage. 

\ .ONE : \ • 

• • I’ took my- wife to, Russia. We had a 

..'"guide o.ver- there -gained Rudolph. 

■ *!'•■ i TWO 

• - • -’.You don't .say.?.- - . 



-We were leaving, and it started to 
snow, . and I said to my wife, "Look 
dear, it's snowing." And the guide 
says,. "No, it's raining." And my wife 
says to me, "It must be raining. 
Rudolph the Red knows rain, dear." 

They exchange a 'glance. 



INT. BUS STATION - DAY 1 

It is a bustling station: People come and go on their way 
to who knows where. Jack Fate hangs up the pay phone and 
begins to head towards his bus • Another person 
immediately takes the phone. They check for change. 

Jack is intercepted by a beautiful but tarted up, 
ynige^iy attired woman. The bus starts its engine. 

WOMAN 

I know you, do you remember me? 

JACK FATE 

I don't know, my memory's blocked. 



(CONTINUED) 



34 



21 CONTINUED: 



21 



WOMAN 

Down on Coliseum Street, the Inferno 
Club? I was the lady in red, you made 
up a song for me. 

JACK FATE 

Oh yeah. Lady in red. Slow, dreamy 
ballad . 

WOMAN 

The Inferno Club burned down. You 
were there that night. 

JACK FATE 

Oh was I? 

WOMAN 

Would you like to go out? Sensuality 
is my specialty. 

JACK FATE 

I got a radical hostility towards 
sensuality. 

WOMAN 

Oh, do you. How do you feel about 
bikinis? 



JACK FATE 

Bikinis infuriate me. 

WOMAN 

Oh, you sound like a bad man. You got 
anymore songs in you? 

JACK FATE 
I don't know. 

WOMAN 

Let's go find out, shall we? 

Jack checks his watch. It's broken. 

JACK FATE 

All right, let's go see. 

They walk away together as Jack's bus pulls out of the 
station. 



CUT TO: 



35 



22 INT. PALATIAL MANSION. - ‘.DAY 

A darkly disturbed, voracious and ambitious man, EDMUND, 
emerges from behind a curtained area. We get a glimpse 
behind the curtain, of .a sick old man being attended to. 
Edmund is joined by another man, EDGAR, as they walk 
purposely to some destination, reviewing and signing 
papers. - 



■ ■ •. EDGAR 

* Does he have any idea about this 
concert? 

•/ . * EDMUND 

Of .course. 'not'. \ 

i . • . ■ ' ( , 

. V ■ .EDGAR - 

Should *we ’tell him? 

* ’ . -- * EDMUND.' 

• ■ • . ; of 'course . not •• 

• * . • , 4 

• / EDGAR ' 

You saw' who the headliner is going to 
be . 

EDMUND 

I like Stravinsky and Beethoven. 
Schubert's really good. Modern music 
doesn't do much for me. And, frankly, 
it doesn't do much for the President, 
either . 

EDGAR 

At least it's not some banjo player. 

Is .there anything we should do? 

EDMUND 

; If they had gotten a big star to 
headline the concert, we might need to 
take action. Disrupt it. Discredit 
it. But they couldn't get a big star. 
Big stars think it's too dangerous 
here. Big- stars like doing benefits, 
it eases their guilt ridden 
consciences, but only if the benefit 
is held someplace where they won't be 
shot at. Big stars don't understand 
what's going on here. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: 



22 



EDMUND (cont'd) 

And big stars don't want to put their 
lives on the line for a cause they 
don't understand. 

EDGAR 

Except Jack Fate. 

EDMUND 

Jack Fate doesn't understand anything. 

And# he's not a big star. 

They chortle at this. Then, they stop. Edmund signs the 
last piece of paper and they go their separate ways. 



CUT TO: 

INT. STAGE - DAY 5 

Work is progressing on the stage. Nina and Uncle 
Sweetheart stand in the midst. 

NINA 

He' s not here . 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
How do you know? 

NINA 

I don't see him. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Maybe he's like Claude Raines in that 
movie# "The Invisible Man". 

NINA 

Who? If - he doesn't show up you'd 
better get invisible. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

You gotta learn how to wait. You're 
going too fast. You gotta wait for 
life to unfold sometimes. 

NINA 

Wait? Like some animal caught in a 
trap waiting for someone to deliver 
the last blow? 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 23 

\ ' * 

’ UNCLE SWEETHEART 

No, no,; no. Not that kind of wait. 

More’ like a fisherman when he can't go 
to sea, he. repairs nets. 

NINA 

Fisherman or not, you don't 
understand, we're hanging on by a 
thread. 

Uncle Sweetheart- steps up to Nina. Veronica and looks 
uncomfortably, into her face’-.' She holds her ground. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I .can see my reflection in the pupil 
•• -of your .eye. . . 

* *, * • • . . # 

.N-INA 

• i . % - 

■ '■ . • Youhaye no idea, where he is. 

UNCLE- 'SWEETHEART 

■*" •’ You' 're exhausting your emotional 

/ repertoire.' If all of us are hanging 
by a thread we ain't got a chance 
anyway.’ 

He gives up and walks away. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

(sotto) 

Why don't you go have your tits 
tightened. . . 

Before he exits, he turns to Nina Veronica. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

I'm going around the corner to get 
some fried chicken, grits and sweet 
• potatoes. If I hear anything I'll let 
you know. 

CUT TO: 

EXT. STREET - DAY 24 

Dawn approaches as the bus Jack rides on follows its 
route through the streets of this unnamed city, past 
burnt out buildings, burnt out people. Past signs and 
storefronts in a variety of foreign languages. It is 
quiet like a Sunday morning. 



(CONTINUED) 




38 



24 CONTINUED: 



24 



We follow the bus on a serpentine trail, down obscure 
side streets past boarded up buildings and closed 
warehouses. The distinguishing characteristic that 
unifies these disparate locations are gigantic Mao-like 
posters plastered everywhere of an intimidating, 
mythical, strong-arm leader in the Stalin, Tito, 

Khomeini, Hussein, Pinochet, Noriega mode. He stares out 
at us. Big Brother-like, ubiquitously, with accompanying 
aphoristic slogans. 

The bus stops in the middle of a bustling multi-cultured 
downtown. Signs and speech are in every conceivable 
language, every conceivable alphabet. Jack Fate exits 
with his guitar and his bag and walks to a once grand, 
now dilapidated hotel. THE WHITMAN. He enters. 



CUT TO: 

25 INT. HOTEL - DAY 25 

Jack Fate walks toward the lobby, past the broken down 
men, who now inhabit this place. On the wall is a Diego 
Rivera-like mural depicting the great works of the 
President. He approaches the DESK CLERK and picks up a 
pen . 

JACK FATE 

Place looks familiar. I think I 
stayed here before. 

DESK CLERK 
Well, welcome back. 

JACK FATE 

Your pen's still out of ink. 

DESK CLERK 

Not a problem, sir. You here for the 
concert? 

JACK FATE 

Yeah. Isn't everybody? 

DESK CLERK 

Oh, yes. They're trying to change the 
social order. Get rid of the ruling 
class. Get corruption out of this 
state. 



(CONTINUED) • 



CONTINUED: 



• JACK. FATE ^ 

That's a ‘worthy ambition. 

DESK CLERK 

This whole country's preoccupied with 
waste. Will you be in need of a 
woman/ sir? - 

JACK FATE . 

' • What kind of woman you mean? 

. DESK CLERK 

We got ’all kinds/ We got slave women, 
■ - *•. -immigrant women, white women, black 

.women, young ’-women, old, middle-aged, 

. rich,* poor middle -class women, free 
.* • women,.. Western' wojnen, .‘Northern women, 

. •;* Southern women, educated, illiterate, 

- -.radical vomen, modern. They run the 
■'.gamut; Which. .'kind you like? 

- ‘ 7 ’ - ’-'-JACK ’FATE 

• I just. wanna sleep. Lemme have a 
room. 



DESK CLERK 

I'm gonna give' you the same room Nixon 
slept in the night before he gave that 
famous speech to the press, "You won t 
have Nixon to kick around anymore. 
Gonna give you that room. It's got 
the most comfortable bed in the house. 



JACK FATE 

I'll take - that one. What are your 
politics, anyway? 



DESK CLERK 

I 'don't belong to any political party. 
I guess you could call me a feminist, 
sir... Your pen sir. It's filled. 



Jack Fate signs in. The Desk Clerk dangles the keys. 
Jack takes them, and heads to the elevator. 




40 



26 INT. HOTEL ROOM - DAY 

Jack Fate enters the room. It is a sparsely furnished, 
plain room. Above the bed is a portrait of the 
President. He throws his stuff down and picks up the 
phone. He dials. It rings. Then: 

(V.O.) 

You have reached the official 
residence of the President. Built in 
1714. Burned down in 1809. Rebuilt 
in 1818. Burned down again in 1841. 

Rebuilt in 1853. Burned down again in 



Jack Fate hangs up. He opens his guitar case and pulls 
out a crumpled piece of paper. It contains another phone 
number. He dials. It rings. We 



CUT TO: 



27 FLASHBACK #4 - APPROXIMATELY 1963 - HIGH? 

This flashback is more ominous, darker. It is purely 
handheld, hidden footage of the father, being driven in a 
limousine at night to an unspecified location. The 
driver opens the door, and exits the limo. . He approaches 
the front door of a modest house. A beautiful YOUNG 
WOMAN answers. He enters. As he does, a series of 
stills is snapped... 

JACK FATE 

...My father controlled a lot of 
things, a lot of people, but he 
couldn't control my mother. He 
sacrificed everything he ever wanted 
to reach his destiny. But there were 
things in his head that he could never 
get out of his head. He had worked 
himself up from nothing. From the 
cathouses and gambling joints, he rose 
to the top rung of civilization. He 
knew the value of hard work. He knew 
that if he made one false step, he'd 
lose his place forever. But when he 
reached the top, he stopped working. 



CUT TO: 



41 



y 




28 



INT. PALATIAL BEDROOM -‘.DAY 

The sick old man in the bed doesn't stir when the phone 
rings. Instead, a caretaker answers. 



CARETAKER 

Hellp. . . 



CUT TO: 



29 INT. HOTEL ROOM 7 DAY 
Jack; Fate hangs up;' 



29 

CUT TO: 



■30 V INT:. "DIVE BAR - ‘NIGHT ; 



30 



• Uncle • Sweetheart sits at -the'- bar, drinking, 
band plays cover versions -of Jack Fate songs. 
• enters. ■ Uncle" Sweetheart; rushes up to him. 



On stage, 
Jack ■ 



a 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Hey, ‘ hey, give your Uncle Sweetheart a 
hug ... 



Uncle Sweetheart hugs a reticent Jack Fate. 

’UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 
Hey, you're all skin and bones. 

JACK FATE 

Aren't we all. Anyway, I don't have 
to throw. my weight around. Look at 
you.- . You've put on a few pounds. 

. ' UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Eating from the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil. 

• Uncle Sweetheart takes Jack into the bar. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

' Lemme show you this place. I own a 
piece of it. 



JACK FATE 
Which piece? 



(CONTINUED) 




42 



30 CONTINUED: 



30 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

It changes every day. I've been told 
the profit potential will eventually 
offset the operating expenses. Could 
be a gold mine. Who knows? Come on, 
sit down. There's a chair. Plant 
your ass in it. You look good. You 
got the jail pale. It suits ya . 

JACK FATE 

What do you got cooked up, Sweetheart? 
What's your angle? 

Uncle Sweetheart is happy to oblige. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
This is going to be a patriotic 
rhapsody, Jack. Here's the deal. 
You're working for the people. The 
peasants. The children. Imagine 
yourself being reincarnated in the 
civil war in Eabylon. 

JACK FATE 

Civil war in Babylon? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Come on son, snap out of it. You 
gotta stand up on your tiptoes to see 
the future. 

JACK FATE 

You're the same old sorry sight. Same 
old baggy-pants philosopher. 

‘ UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Yes. And remember this, if nothing 
else — we philosophers cannot change 
our minds. Look, man, this is our big 
chance . 

JACK FATE. 

Another big chance. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Yeah, that's right. You do this show, 
this benefit, it' s gonna be broadcast 
all over the world. You get your 
career back on track, maybe a tour, 
maybe a record, maybe both. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



43 



30 CONTINUED: (2) ‘ ' - 

* UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Make a little money AND save the 
world, all at .the same time. It's all 
politics. Jack; and money is the 
mother's milk of politics. And we'll 
be raking it in.' 

JACK FATE' 

You're so crazy. You know you're not 
gonna make any. of those things happen. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

.. So? . 

Jack laughs'.. So does Uncle ‘ Sweetheart . 

‘ : . •*. '..‘UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

• 4 - . ■ *. So, will. -you play.? 

* • * , * r . . j 

‘ -v .* . . JACK FATE. 

• --.Of .course I'll play- ■ You know I'll 
• * '• play . ■ . . •_ . 

' ’-'UNCLE '‘SWEETHEART 

' Good. .1 already told 'em 1 you would. 

Uncle Sweetheart enjoys his own joke. 

* JACK FATE 

You couldn't get anybody else, could 
you? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I didn't even attempt it. Didn't even 
cross my mind. Nobody could be like 
you, and a great many have tried. I 
know it'll come off. 

•JACK FATE 

I need some boys to back me up. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I got some musicians here. Jack. Some 
cats who are never late. 

JACK FATE 

What do you mean? Late for what? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Well,. they never play behind the beat. 
This fails to get a rise out of Jack. 



(CONTINUED) 



44 



30 CONTINUED: (3) 30 



JACK FATE 

Oh, yeah. That kind of late. 

Uncle Sweetheart motions to the stage. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Feast your eyes on The Hand Of Fate. 

The best and only Jack Fate cover band 
in the world. . . 

Uncle Sweetheart stands up. Ubiquitous whiskey bottle in 
hand. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special 
treat for you this evening. Not only 
do we possess the Hand of Fate this 
evening. We possess the whole body! 

Attention shifts to a chagrined Jack Fate. The band and 
the audience are excited at his presence in the club. 
Reluctantly, he is coaxed on stage. He huddles with the 
band, conferring for a moment, then kicks into "All Along 
The Watchtower" 



LYRICS: 

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to 
the thief, 

"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief. 

Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth. 

None of them along the line know what any of it is 
worth . " 

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke, 

"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a 
joke . 

But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not 
our fate, 

So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting 
late . " 



(CONTINUED) 



30 



CONTINUED; ' (4)' - • ■ . 

' K 1 ‘ 

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view 

While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, 
too . • 

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl, 

Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl. 

When ‘it's over, -.Jack thanks the band. Everyone responds 
enthusiastically.* Clearly, the magic exists. But Jack 
unstraps .his guitar .and exits. As he passes Uncle 
Sweetheart:' • 

. ..-.‘JACK -FATE •• 

. .. They 'play., good. • ‘ •/. 

' . v : 'UNCLE SWEETHEART 

'■ ..ll told 'you they vrpu'ld. 

;.'JACK FATE 

: ’Where*' d you. get-' .these guys? 

\ UNCLE SWEETHEART 
• Appeared before my eyes. 

JACK FATE 

What a pleasant surprise. 

"UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Me too, I was hypnotized. 

This is a game they play. A rhyming game. Satisfied, Jack 
exits. 

CUT TO: 

EXT. STREET -'NEXT DAY 

Jack walks past a group of homeless people who stand 
around a bonfire, the radio preacher's omnipresent voice 
•bellows out of the same homeless man's broken boom box. 

RADIO PREACHER (V.O.) 

The only power the government has is 
to crack down on criminals. When 
there aren't enough criminals, you 
make them. You make so many things a 
crime that it becomes impossible to 
live without breaking laws. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




46 



31 CONTINUED: 31 

RADIO PREACHER (cont'd) 

Who wants a nation of law-abiding 
citizens? What's there in that for 
anyone? You pass laws that can't be 
observed or enforced or even 
objectively interpreted. You create a 
nation of lawbreakers and then you 
cash in on guilt. That's the system, 
that's the game. Once you understand 
that you'll sleep a lot easier. 

Remember, life is like riding in a 
taxi, even if you're not going 
anywhere, the meter is ticking. 

A pickup truck with armed men glides by. They eye Jack 
warily as if they recognize him. 



CUT TO: 

32 EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - MORNING 32 

Jack reaches the SOUNDSTAGE and is stopped by an ARMED 
MAN • {in civilian clothes). The man stops Jack, gazes 
into his eyes, scrutinizing him, trying to look within. 

ARMED MAN 

How'd they ever get you to do this? I 
didn't think you performed anymore. 

They must be scraping the bottom of 
the barrel. 

JACK FATE 

I might have a few songs left. How'd 
they get you into this? You used to 
be a student. You know how to use one 
of those? 



ARMED MAM 

Yeah, they taught me. I can shoot it, 
clean it, and take it apart. They 
taught me a bunch of other stuff too. 

I can tell a military officer's rank 
just by looking at his insignia. You 
ever hear of the Brown Bomber? 

JACK FATE 
Name rings a bell. 

ARMED MAN 

The only boxer buried in Arlington. 

Joe Lewis. Great American. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



47 



32 CONTINUED: *' ‘ ’ ’ . 32 

ARMED MAN (cont'd)- 

Lived- a tough life. You wouldn't try 
anything, would you? 

•' JACK FATE 

I got a lotof respect for a gun. 

The Armed Man motions for Jack to enter. 

CUT TO: 

33 EXT. ‘ SOUNDSTAGE*-; MORNING ■ 33 

Jack Fate enters’-.and walks past an ANIMAL WRANGLER, who 
has .his .vehicl'e parked .-.'in ■ front of a pen set up for the 
animals to roam- around, in. They include a pig, a snake, 
a goat, a- sheep, 'and a' HUMAN who .sits quietly amongst 
theitu.vHe and Jack exchange, eye . contact, as he seems to 
■ ■ prepare-'Some sort of barbecue pit. He heats the 

coals; cleans. the. grill, sharpens utensils. As he talks we 
. will examine- the similarities. 'between the animals and the 
human's: ‘‘Their ' eyes, - noses, hair, etc. 

‘ 7 ‘ ■' : jack' FATE 

■ '‘Beautiful animals. 

ANIMAL WRANGLER 

I'll .thank you. But it's God that 
deserves -the credit. They have no 
time to bother with success or getting 
rich. They have no fantasies of 
glory.' They don't borrow money to buy 
things that decrease in value while 
they own it. See, they're beautiful 
'cause they just are. They do what 
they do. A lion don't try to be a 
tiger. A' rabbit don't do an 
impression of a monkey. They don't 
try to be what they're not. Unlike 
.us. Us human beings. I don't care if 
I ever see another one. I'm not 
talking about animals, I'm talking 
about human beings. Every human 
being, all of mankind. The only 
reason they're here is to destroy the 
planet. Human beings have been sent 
here on some ungodly mission. These 
animals, they were here first. They 
roamed freely, each one with its own 
identity and place. Animals should be 
cherished. They bring joy to the 
world . 



(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



48 



33 CONTINUED: 33 

ANIMAL WRANGLER (cont'd) 

The animal kingdom, the greatest 
kingdom on earth. You know who's 
destroying the earth? Not the 
animals. The tiger the lion, the 
cheetah, the snake, the monkey, the 
baboon, the giraffe, the bear, the 
panther, the dog, fish, the birds, all 
perfect in their original forms. Then 
— man came in. Who created him and 
for what purpose? Still a mystery. 

Why is he here? A mystery. He's a 
trespasser. Doesn't know his place. 

Of course he doesn't know his place, 
he doesn't have one. Man, the bear 
hunter, the fur trapper, the deer 
chaser. The lowest form in existence. 

A spoiler, an agitator, stirs up 
trouble wherever he goes.- The zoo, 
the aquarium, prisons for animals. 

These animals cannot learn anything 
from mankind. Man doesn't have a 
thing to teach them. Man is here to 
conquer and destroy and after he's 
done with the animals, he'll turn on 
himself. You'll see. I avoid looking 
at human beings. They disgust me so 
much with all their atom boir.bs and 
automobiles. Two shivering bicycle 
mechanics, from Dayton, Ohic, 
inventing a contraption called an 
airplane. How insane. All the forms 
and shapes. They build hospitals for 
diseases they create. Human beings? 

Alone with their secrets. No one 
truly knows them. If I go through the 
day without seeing one, I consider 
that a good day. My soul has not been 
contaminated. The only righteous 
human beings in my book are the 
children and the elderly. Muslim, 

Jew, Christian, atheist, secular 
humanist. All these religions, 
ideologies, titles, all the same. 

Going down toward the same pit. I 
look at a crack in the sidewalk and I 
find it more beautiful than any human 
being. You know what I mean? 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, something like a curse, I guess, 
being born. 



(CONTINUED) 



49 



33 CONTINUED:' (2) : 

K • ’ 

■ ANIMAL WRANGLER 

That'.s right. ‘ We live in fear. We're 
afraid -'cause we know we're going to 
die. Animals don't know they're going 
to -die. They have no fear. They live 
in the moment. 

(saddling a horse) 

Man -is a wretched thing, compared to 
the mountains, the clouds, the water, 
the insects, the -wind. . . a wretched 
.. thing.' 'Amazing grace, how sweet the 
sound .that saved a' wretch like me. I 
hope- when I die, ' I'm. reincarnated as 
■ ah animal. Many lives ago I must have 

„ been, rabbit . : T know,-' because in this 
life, ' I don' t stand, up for myself. 

Next t.ime, if ’ I .-q'an, .I'm going to come 
back as .ah' ox. . .Animals, they have no 
*■ * ^consciousness, of -.death, unlike us. 

■ - • Amazing grace -'Indeed. Knowledge of 

. it,- of .death, • it' s a harmful thing. 

’’It -holds us. bac’k. It makes you crazy, 

- knowledge of death. Amazing grace 
indeed. 

JACK FATE 

Oh,' man. . 

ANIMAL WRANGLER 

I'll. tell you something else. In most 
societies they used to sacrifice 
animals. Bulls and sheep and things. 

In place of human beings. But today, 
we do it the other way around, we 
sacrifice* the human being. Like the 
Aztecs, like the Incas, like the big 
corporations. Amazing grace indeed; 

And with’ that, he begins to slaughter an animal for the 
barbecue as Uncle Sweetheart shows up and guides Jack 
inside .• 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
What was that all about? 

JACK FATE 

Guy's into animals, I guess. 



33 



(CONTINUED) 




50 



! 



33 CONTINUED: (3) 33 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Come on inside, I gotta show you this 
place. You'll love it. It's right up 
your alley. The networks are really 
behind this thing. Puttin' up a lot 
of dough for this... It's a bitched up 
world. Jack. You know what I mean? 

The only way we can protect ourselves 
is by going mad. 

They enter the soundstage. 



CUT TO: 

34 INT. SOUNDSTAGE 34 

ANGLE ON, the two crew guys from before, as they work. 

CREW GUY #1 

All this talk about race this, and 
race that . Ethnic this and ethnic 
that. Lernme tell you something, 
there's only two races, workers and 
bosses . 

ANGLE ON, Uncle Sweetheart and Jack as they pass the crew 
guys and others, making their way across the soundstage. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
This place is historic. Jack. 

This is one of the first TV stations 
ever built down here. It's like the 
Metropolitan Opera House. The Astors 
and the Vanderbilts sat side by side 
in boxes here. Houdini tied himself 
up in ropes and chains and hung 
himself from the rafters and yelled, 

"Watch me now, see what can I do!"... 

Some famous star from the Jazz Age was 
disfigured right on this stage during 
a live show. I can't remember the 
sucker's name. What the hell was that 
guy's name? 

JACK FATE 
(looking around) 

I don't know who you're talking about. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



Y ■ Y- UNCLE SWEETHEART 
How long' s it been since you played to 
this many people? 

JACK FATE 

I don't see anybody here. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Nah, they're not here yet, but they 
will be. In droves. Masses of the 
“adoring public, acolytes. Imagine it. 

* Pandemonium, mass hysteria. 

: JACK. FATE ' .* 

. 'you're a '-sick man-. . 

They wind up .at 'Nina/.s ‘ trailer as she steps out. 




‘ ‘ ;.NINA 

/At. least we ‘agree on something. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
I told you he's here. You were 
worried. Miss Veronica, meet Jack 

■ Fate. 

‘NINA 

Oh, yeah. I had one of your first 
albums. It's a shame. It's one of 
the things my husband took during the 
divorce. So you think you're ready 
for this?. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, I'm ready as I'll ever be. 

■ Look, I got some things to do. I'll 
see you later, maybe. 



.He exits. 



NINA 

I hope you got this cat's priorities 
in order. Have you explained the 
restrictions, the limitations, the 
boundaries, the rules? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Well we've talked about it. 



52 



34 CONTINUED: (2) 



34 



NINA . . . 

I hope you know we're dealing with rne 
here and now.... You can't compare t e 
here and now with the there and 
then.... I don't care what he s done in 

the past. 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Calm down. Everything's under 
control . 



NINA 

Are his songs going to be 
recognizable? 'That's what I want to 

know . 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

All of his songs are recognizable, 
even if they're not recognizable. 

Don't worry about it. 

NINA t . . 

Look. The whole world is going to be 
our studio audience. We don t want to 
ruffle any feathers. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

One huge, immense, gigantic studio 
audience. The whole world. 



NINA 

Yes, that's right, 
deliver? 



Will we be able to 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Of course we're going todeliver. We 
don't conspire against liberty, we 
don't reduce the public to slavery. 

We know right where we are and where 
everything else is. We don t chase 
things that are out of reach. 

And with that, he awkwardly backs away. 

NINA 

(to herself) 

You' re so spontaneous . 



CUT TO: 



53 



35 ■ INT.- SOONDSTAGE- - -DAY 35 

Jack steps on the makeshift stage and joins the band. He 
plugs in, counts .down, and they launch into "Wicked 
Messenger"- 

Lyrics: 

There was a wicked messenger 
From Eli he did come, 

With a mind- that, multiplied 
The smallest matter.* ’■ ■ 

‘ When questioned .who had .sent for him, 

He' answered' with his. thumb,- 

For his tongue it could not speak, but only flatter. 

• m . * ,, * 

He stayed behind the assembly hall, 

It was there he made his bed. 

Oftentimes he could be seen returning. 

Until one day he. just appeared 
With a note in his hand which read, 

"The soles of my feet, I swear they're burning." 

Oh, the leaves began to failin' 

And the seas began to part, 

And the people that confronted him were many. ■ 

And he was told but these few words, 

Which opened up his heart, 

"If ye cannot bring good news, then don't bring any." 



CUT TO: 



^5 

54 



36 INT. JACK'S DRESSING ROOM TRAILER - DAY 36 

Uncle Sweetheart and Jack Fate acclimate themselves. 

Uncle Sweetheart pours himself a drink while Jack Fate 
tries to get a picture on a TV that doesn't work. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Troubles, I don't talk about my 
troubles while they're happening. 

I'll tell you about them when they're 
over. Anyway, I slept like a log last 
night. I got so much shit happening 
man, I'm gonna turn this into 
Woodstock, Altamont, the Beatles at 
Shea, Live-Aid, and the Elvis comeback 
special all rolled into one. 

JACK FATE 

We'll see. We'll see. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I know what you're thinking, man, but 
I feel good about this. I feel like 
someone who's lived 10,000 years, that 
has seventeen senses and is standing 
ankle high in the Atlantic. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, well, I hope you can pull it 
off. 

There's a KNOCK at the door. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Wait a minute. 

JACK FATE 
Who's that? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

The greatest human menagerie since the 
Stone Age. At our services, no 
mediocrity here. Totally beyond 
criticism. I got all the artists here 
who are gonna round out this show and 
fill up the bill. 

Uncle Sweetheart opens the door and a motley crew of 
freaks and weirdos wade in. We recognize some of them 
from the pictures on Uncle Sweetheart's wall. 



! 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



36 



They include a FORTUNE TELLER, 
seedy MAGICIAN, 'a .-VENTRILOQUIST 
masked WRESTLER in a suit. 



a female CONTORTIONIST, 
and his DUMMY, and a 



a 



‘UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Come on in. Come on in. 

They surround an uncomfortable Jack Fate and exchange 
awjcward, but polite pleasantries. 

• UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

...Ella the Fortune' Teller ... Brenda 
the Body Bender Jean Darkness... 

Eddie Quicksand and'. Milo... the great 
’ El Mundo 

« . . ... ■ ’ ‘t f . 

■A. .group of --look a likes follows.- 

‘ ■ •; UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

- . . ■■ ‘And. of course;-. ; Abraham Lincoln, Mark 

• . -'Twaih,- Rudolf ; Valentino . 

Behind them, ..BOBBY CUPID- enters . Uncle Sweetheart is not 
nappy to see him. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Oh, Iookey, here. Look what the cat 
dragged in. Bobby Cupid, who let you 
in? Jack, did you know he was coming? 

Where'. s your passport? 



BOBBY CUPID 

I don't need no stinking passport. 

Jack Fate moves in .front of Uncle Sweetheart and embraces 
Bobby Cupid. 

BOBBY CUPID 
(quietly) 

The land is too big out there, man. 

After awhile it starts to swallow you 
up. 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
(dejected) 

A million years of weather and wind. 
BOBBY CUPID 

I got a surprise for you. Wait'll you 
see this. 



(CONTINUED) 




56 



36 CONTINUED: (2) 36 



He hands Jack a guitar in a beaten up, old case. 

JACK FATE 
What's that? 

BOBBY CUPID 

That my friend is Blind Lemon's 
guitar . 

The crowd is impressed. Jack admires it. He takes it 
out of the case and examines it with reverence. 

JACK FATE 

Who'd you get this from? 

BOBBY CUPID 

I've been saving it for you. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
It don't look very new. 

BOBBY CUPID 

It's so old that it is new. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

How do you know it belonged to Blind 
Lemon? 



BOBBY CUPID 

I got it from an old boy in Dallas. 
They were moving stuff out of a house 
in the 5th ward, near where Lightning 
used to live. Blind Lemon gave it to 
him when he was leading him around. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

It looks like the only thing you can 
play on that guitar is solitaire. 

BOBBY CUPID 

This is one of the guitars that 
started it all. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

It looks like something I could go out 
to the corner pawnshop and buy another 
one just like it. 



(CONTINUED) 



36 



CONTINUED: (3)‘ 



‘ BOBBY CUPID 

Maybe you could, but it wouldn't be 
like this one. This is the one that 
played "Match Box Blues." 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Oh yeah, "Match Box Blues:" 

Sittin ' here wondering , 

Would a matchbox hold my clothes? 

/ Ain' t -got so many matches, 

..But I got so far to- go. 

. Just like me and you Jack, we got so 
far to go. ' • 

• * * ‘ BQBBY- CUPID'* . 

- . ■ I' m . gonna ■ go put' some new strings on 

■ ■ '* - ■ - this.' 

■ **»■. •. ' • 

•Jack hands the guitar care£ully back to Bobby Cuoid, who 
exits.'- 

* ' UNCLE 'SWEETHEART 

(under his breath)’ 

See you later/ the later the better. 



CUT TO: 

• INT. SOUNDSTAGE - NINA'S TRAILER - DAY 3 

Nina sits at her desk, on the phone. 

NINA 

. . i Come on. We have to hang in there. 

Let's not quit how and give up the 
ship... Yes', Lucius, I agree. It does 
look pessimistic and gloomy, but 
neither of us can predict what may be 
.around the next corner... Lucius, 
listen. You can shake down the 
insurance companies if you have to, 
you know you can. The government only 
exists to help business. The 
businesses themselves can help the 
rest of the country. We have to take 
a stand. Whether others like it or 
not is irrelevant... I know what 
you're saying, but we don't have to 
sell our souls for the applause of 
others . . . We do? 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: 



37 



NINA (cont'd) 

Well, I don't look at it that 
way... Yes, Lucius, I'll do my best, I 
understand. . . 

She hangs up and exits. 



CUT TO: 

INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY ' 

Nina crosses the stage. As she passes the two crew 
members , we angle on them as they work. Finally, they 
stop, put down their tools. CREW GUV #1 wipes his brow. 
They head to the craft services table to get a beverage. 
As they do: 

CREW GUY #1 

I'm getting weary of living by this 
clock. It's all smoke and mirrors. I 
want to live in real time, in the 
terms of day and night. I'm sick of 
this merchants' time, businessman's 
time, clocks and bells signaling the 
hours. It's all just some gimmick, . 
this physical time. I just wanna live 
in psychic time. Just once, see how 
it feels. One of these days I'm going 
to live in time suspended. 

CREW GUY #2 

Maybe in your next life, but right now 
we're still here. 

CREW GUY #1 

Did you ever notice when you dream a 
dream seems to span several hours, but 
it actually lasts only a few minutes. 

That's what I mean by suspended time. 

One of these days, I'm going to get 
beyond the traditional boundaries of 
time and be able to appreciate the 
truly infinite nature of time and 
space. I'm going to kick back. I 
want to experience a timeless moment 
just once... By the way, who's the 
big fella, the joker they call 
Sweetheart? 

CREW GUY #2 

Oh, him. Some big time promoter out 
of Cleveland. 



(CONTINUED) 




59 



CONTINUED: 



CREW GUY #1 
What did he promote?. 

'CREW GUY #2 

Lots of things, I. guess. He used to 
do some wrestling shows. All kinds of 
talent. Some comedians, bareback 
riders. . . 

CREW GUY #1 
what 7 s he .doing here? 

. ‘ CREW GUY- #2 

• .* He 7 s probably 'doing something in 
•* -'connection with the show^. Don't you 
% -remember-'; a few -years ago, there was 
■ ' some; photographer, I can't remember 
: -his name . ' v They -called him the Bad 

• Boy of Shiitterbugs . " Snapped a 
-picture' of himself with a bullwhip 
-■shoved up his ass.. Remember? Some 
famous museum displayed it. Sort of 
controversial at the time. Some 
lingerie company or underwear company 
cot a hold of it and used it to 
promote their underwear. They used it 
on a billboard sign. 

CREW GUY #1 

Used it on a billboard? A guy with a 
bullwhip up his ass? 

. CREW GUY #2 

Yeah, it's a classic photo. They 
' called it a great artistic 

‘achievement. It broke new ground. 

CREW GUY #1 
What about it? 

CREW GUY #2 

Well, the league of decency came down 
on the underwear company pretty heavy. 
They said it was destroying morale. 

It went too far for the good of 
society. 

CREW GUY #1 
So what happened? 



(CONTINUED) 



60 



38 CONTINUED: {2) 



38 



CREW GUY #2 

The ruling from the local judge came 
down on the side of the league of 
decency. The billboard came down, and 
the underwear company was given a 
stiff fine. Then Sweetheart got 
involved, took the case to the Supreme 
Court and got the decision overturned. 
That was a big day for Sweetheart. 

CREW GUY #1 

Seems like some days everything goes 
your way. 



CREW GUY #2 

Yeah, but in the end, people say he 
was never the same. 



They pass Bobby Cupid, stringing the .?V^ar braver 
and Pagan Lace approach. She is mumbling her pray . 

Tom Friend "shushes" her. She is distracted by the 
surroundings, like a child. Tom Friend is galvanized, 
energized by the hustle and bustle. He steps up to Bobby 

Cupid. 



TOM FRIEND 

I'm looking for Jack Fate. Is he in 
there? 



BOBBY CUPID 

Who's looking for him? 

TOM FRIEND 

Name's Tom Friend. I'm with the 
press. Who are you? What do you do? 

BOBBY CUPID 
I'm a mechanic. 

TOM FRIEND 

Well, I'm a journalist. And I've got 
an assignment to cover this so-called 
fundraiser. I'm looking for Jack 
Fate. 



BOBBY CUPID 

You ever read "For Whom the Bell 
Tolls"? Hemingway, now there's a guy 
who could write. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: (3) ' 



;tom friend 

Yeah, I read.it. I need to see Jack 
Fate. You gonna make my job easy or 
difficult? 1 



BOBBY CUPID 

I don' t know anything about any 
fundraiser. 



TOM FRIEND 

Get Word to him that I was here. Can 
you do that?. And- I'll be back. 



• BOBBY CUP.ID 
"I don' t" know. • 



■ ■' TOM. '.FR-IEND ■ 

Poes a hundred -d*ollar bill ‘say 
. ; . anything to' you?. • 

. * ' . ’ ’ ' . * BOBBY- -CUPID 

■ ■■“ ‘ Not ,a -thing. ■ 



This is * a moment of awkward tension. Pagan Lace, who has 

^ been 'P a y i ?9 attention, suddenly, abruptly chimes 

m with a completely new thought. 



' PAGAN LACE 

Tom, let's get something to eat. You 
know a good place to eat around here? 

BOBBY CUPID 

You might try Caesar's Palace outside 
of town. 

" PAGAN LACE 

What do they have to eat there? 

BOBBY CUPID 

I don't know. They got Indian 
cornbread, boiled in water and bacon 
fat. That's supposed to be pretty 
good. 



Bobby Cupid exits. He and Tom Friend stare each other 
down as Bobby Cupid walks away warily. 



INT. JACK'S DRESSING ROOM TRAILER - CONTINUOUS 

Uncle Sweetheart and Jack Fate speak. Uncle Sweetheart 
looks over the contract. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
They want you to sing that song 
"Revolution . " . You know, the Beatles 
song. They might even want you to 
sing it twice. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, yeah, okay, "Revolution." What 
else is on their playlist? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
I got their list right here... 

(pulls out a sheet of paper) 

Where's my glasses? Let's see 
here... Okay, here goes ... "Street 
Fightin' Man" ... "Won' t Get Fooled 
Again"... "Cellblock 
#9" . . . "Ohio" . . . "Eve of 
Destruction". •.. "Kick out the Jams." 

You can do all those. 

JACK FATE 

I don't know. Uncle. Sounds like a 
lot of songs. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Look son, you blew it before. This is 
your big chance. I'm trying to get 
your career back on track. There's 
people out there giving prizes to 
people like you. 

JACK FATE 

Prizes. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

People are impressed by people who win 
things. Don't you know. 

JACK FATE 

You must be kidding, right? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Look son, I'm on your side. 



(CONTINUED) 




39 CONTINUED: 



39 



•JACK FATE 

You wanna be 'on .my side. Uncle, you 
gotta be born on my side. 

Bobby Cupid re-enters with the guitar. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Ah, behold the dreamer cometh. What's 
going on, dreamer? 

. / 

■ * • BOBBY CUPID 

There'-s some, guy here snoopin' around. 

' UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Looking for;me? What does he look 

. <. .. ' .nice? 

/ • ' .. . k :■* .BOBBY" CUPID 

WKat'd ( he look like? Got his hair 
■ ■ ^ tied .back in‘;a ponytail . He's with 
■ some -weird, half-breed chick. He looks 

• " like - ' a' leech/ .if you ask me. Some 
kind of two-faced monster. A spy. 

•Lee would' ve. probably had him shot. 
Sherman would've hung him. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

• Oh, that's a good attitude. You can 
tell all that just by looking at 
somebody? 

BOBBY CUPID 

Well, a guy does all kinds of things 
to give himself away. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Maybe, we should talk to him. We could 
use -some publicity. Who does he want 
to talk to? 

BOBBY CUPID 

He wants to talk to Jack. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Maybe you should talk to him, Jack. 
Exposure can't hurt. 

JACK FATE 

Talking to any of those guys is a 
waste of time. 



(CONTINUED) 



39 CONTINUED: (2) 



39 



BOBBY CUPID 

Well, his pen is sweatin' blood if you 
ask me . 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Well, nobody's asking you... Look 
Jack, I'm doing my best. Gimme a 
break. I'm only human. 

JACK FATE 

I know. It ain't easy being human. 

Jack Fate exits, he walks past Nina, who talks to the two 
crew guys. 



NINA 

What’s the matter? We're behind 
schedule . 



CREW GUY 

We got a problem here. Too much 
electrical load. The voltage at the 
output terminals they're undergoing a 
decrease . 



NINA 

What about the generator? 

CREW GUY 

I need a current distribution center, 
where the voltage doesn't fall so 
badly. 

NINA 

Well, look, the frequencies are merely 
superimposed upon one another. We 
have to be able to modulate by some 
kind of ring modulator. Can we do 
this? Can we start on time? 

CREW GUY 

We're doin' our best. 

Nina exits as Tom Friend spots Jack Fate. Jack Fate sees 
. Tom Friend but ignores him. Tom Friend rushes up to him. 

TOM FRIEND 

Jack. Tom Friend. I'm with the 
press . 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: ‘(3)*'. 

'JACK FATE 
-(on guard) 

I know who you are and I know who 
you're with. 

TOM FRIEND 
Yeah. Long time. 

Jack doesn't acknowledge this. 

- TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

. Do you mind if I ask you a few 
questions? 

\ JACK FATE. ** • 

■ I don' t • knotf . ■ Depends what you want 

■ ■ • * to ‘know.-/ * 

*■ ' ■ TOM.. FRIEND 

* What ‘do. I wanna • know? I wanna know a 

1 lot of things.. , 

* 1 , . . * 

' . ’’ . JACK FATE * 

Like what? 

TOM' FRIEND 
(takes out a pencil) 

I know you had a twin brother. 
Whatever happened to him? 

JACK FATE 
(surprised) 

He went on a hunting trip. Is that 
all? 



TOM FRIEND 

Yeah, *well Jack, that doesn't explain 
anything. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, well, he didn't come back. 

Jack moves on as Uncle Sweetheart charges in followed by 
Bobby Cupid. * 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Wait a minute. We're all free people, 
aren't we? Let's be free. Let's act 
free. Son, you're free now. Act 
free. To be free is to act rational. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




66 



39 CONTINUED: (4) 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 
It won't hurt you to answer a few 
questions . 



BOBBY CUPID 

Nobody has to answer any questions. 
UNCLE SWEETHEART 

This will do us a lot of good. Let's 
just tell keep it simple. Tell him 
what he wants to know. 

JACK FATE 

All right. What else does he want to 
know? 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Can we keep it short? 

TOM FRIEND 

Yeah, we can keep it short. Okay, 

Jack I got a few more things here. 

Mothers of Invention, Jack. Zappa, 
remember him? Now there's a guy who 
wouldn't take no for an answer. Did a 
whole movie, "Uncle Meat," sixteen 
hours long, totally unedited. He let 
it all hang out, didn't he? What 
about you. Jack? Have you ever let it 
all hang out? 

JACK FATE 

It's always hanging out. 

Jack begins moving again; followed by this unlikely 
entourage . 

JACK FATE 

What else you want to know? 

TOM FRIEND 

Oh yeah, okay. Twin brother took a 
hunting trip, huh? You know that 
singer in the group the Bee Gees? 

JACK FATE 
What about him? 

TOM FRIEND 

Sounds a lot like Gene Pitney, doesn't 
he. Jack? 



(CONTINUED) 



JACK FATE 



Okay. 

< TOM FRIEND 

Yeah, "Town. Without Pity," Jack. 
Remember that? Place where they lock 
you up for something you haven't even 
thought about doing yet. Pretty 
lonesome world, ain'.t it Jack? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Hey'. listen this is supposed to be 
about a charity ‘fundraiser, here. 

. . TOM 'FRIEND-* 

■Yeah,* I .know. . -I‘'m. almost done. 

' ‘ . . r 

, * . a 

\ • ’* •' UNCLE' SWEETHEART 

Ail right, .let' s\ wrap it up. 

• / . ;.'.toM- friend 

What' about’. Hendrix, Jack? You 
remember Hendrix at Woodstock? I'm 
just curious,- you weren't there were 
you? Why?- Where were you? You 
weren't up there with Hendrix. You 
should've seen Hendrix. He was all 
business. Didn't mix business with 
pleasure.. Playing "Star Spangled 
Banner" through two lousy speakers to 
half a million people in the mud. 

What a cry that was. A cry forlorn. 
One last gasp of the old regime. One 
desperate cry for freedom, up there 
with that- screaming guitar. What was 
he saying, Jack? He was saying, "I 
know what I look like. I know I 
couldn't get a break in America. I 
went to England and found some blokes 
and formed my own band." What was 
that "Star Spangled Banner" trip all 
about. Jack? Revolution, I don't 
think so. You could hear the tears in 
every note he played. Saying love me, 
love me, I'm not a traitor, I'm a 
native son. He took the glorious 
anthem and he dropped drug bombs on 
it. You could hear that cry around 
the world. Jack. He was saying I'm an 
American citizen. 

(MORE) 




68 



39 CONTINUED: (6) 39 

TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

He was crying out to his forefathers. 

The pilgrims who came to this country 
didn't need no stinkin' passports, 
didn' t need to talk to any government 
officials. Hendrix, Jack, the last 
man standing. Pride and honor. 

Jack. That's what it's all about, but 
nobody heard him. One sad cry of 
pity. Jack. A town without pity. 

What about you, what do you think 
about that? Would you reach out to a 
drowning man. Would you think when 
you were doing it that he might pull 
you in? 

Everyone stops. 



BOBBY CUPID 
(pulls out his knife) 

This guy's way out of line. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Does anybody want a drink? Why don't 
we have a drink? I want a drink. 

There is a long awkward pause. Jack shakes his head in 
disbelief and begins to exit. As he does, he crosses 
past Pagan Lace. They exchange a glance. Jack throws his 
cigarette butt on the ground and exits. She picks it up 
and smokes it. 



BOBEY CUPID 
(dismissive, to Uncle 
Sweetheart) 

You're a nuisance and an annoyance. 

Bobby Cupid catches up with Jack. Tom Friend yanks the 
cigarette out of Pagan Lace's mouth, throws it down, 
grabs her and exits in the opposite direction. Alone, 
Uncle Sweetheart takes a swig of his drink. He chases 
after Tom. 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Hey wait a minute, maybe we can still 
work this outr - 

Uncle Sweetheart passes the two crew guys, who've been 
observing. 



(CONTINUED) 



69 



39 CONTINUED: (7.) 



CREW GUY #1 
(to second crew guy) 

When I was .in welding school, just for 
kicks, we wguld heat a steel bar until 
it was red hot, let the color cool out 
and then ask the new boy, to 
bring over the metai bar. All it 
would cost him is the skin off his 
. , hand. 

They resume their work. 

CUT TO: 

40 INT . ' SOUNDSTTAGE - 'MORNING. *- .CONTINUOUS t 

‘ Uncle . Sweetheart catches ’up with Tom Friend and Pagan 
■ • La c e . ■ ; * * . .. 

•’ - ■ - UNCLE’' SWEETHEART 

*■■■■- We can’ work . this out. 

- TOM. FRIEND 

I got my story. We're not working 
nothing out. 

’ UNCLE SWEETHEART 

That was all off the record, you know. 

TOM FRIEND 

Nothing's off the record. 

Tom Friend walks away but Pagan Lace stops. Uncle 
Sweetheart is curious. He approaches her. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Here, ‘have a drink. Become part of 
- the club. Sample a mouthful... 

* Become a member in full standing. 

She examines the bottle. Smells it. 



PAGAN LACE 

I don't drink scotch. 

She smiles then catches up with Tom. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



40 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
(shouting after them) 

Oh, I get it. You're one of them hot 
corn girls. You got a lot of self 
control. Freedom is only for people 
who can practice self control, right? 
That's what you're thinking, right? I 
know what you're thinking. 

He takes a swig from his flask. 



CUT TO: 

INT. SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT 41 

Everything is quiet. Nina sits alone listening to the 
preacher's religious fervor on the radio in her trailer, 
masturbating. We start on her face and pull away as the 
preacher talks, through the window’ and outside the 
trailer, past crew people who have no idea what she's 
doing alone in there. 

PREACHER (V.O.) 

We're .living in the world with the god 
of Cain and Abel. The concept of good 
and evil, some people have trouble 
with that. You have to have a clear 
consciousness of what constitutes good 
and evil. There's a whole lot of 
people who have trouble with the 
concept of evil. They like to think 
it doesn't exist. We're living in the 
world of Cain and Abel. There's 
people who break laws and encourage 
others to break laws. There's a lot 
of social evils that can be eliminated 
by murder, like David in the Bible, 
the King Arthur of the Jews. Faith, 
hope and charity. The greatest of 
these is charity. Sometimes we act as 
if nothing will ever get done in life 
unless we do it ourselves. We fail to 
see god's mighty plan. We fail to see 
the good things coming our way that 
take no effort on our part. Life is 
full of risks and sometimes, people, 
we must take the risks to live by the 
spiritual path. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



71 



41 CONTINUED: 



41 



' PREACHER (cont'd) 

Life is like a salad dressing, folks, 
and we must shake it up or else it 
becomes stagnant before we know it... 



42 INTi SOUNDSTAGE 



42 



Finally Jack enters the stage, we follow him. The band 
awaits him. He picks up a guitar and they begin playing 
"Standing In The. Doorway." 

LYRICS • ; ’ 

• I'm* walking .through the summer nights 
■ Jukebox playing low 

"Yesterday everything was .going too fast 

Today, it' s moving too slow 

♦ 

I got no place left to turn . 

I got nothing left to burn 

Don't know if I saw you, if I would kiss you or kill you 

• it probably wouldn't matter to you anyhow 
You left me standing in the doorway, crying 
X got nothing to go back to now 

The light in this place is so bad 
Making me sick in the head 

• All the laughter is just making me sad 
The stars have turned cherry red 

I'm str umm ing on my gay guitar 



Smoking a cheap cigar 

The ghost of our old love has not gone away 
Don't look like it will anytime soon 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: 



You left me standing in the doorway crying 
Under the midnight moon 

Maybe they' 11 get me and maybe they won' t 

But not tonight 1 and it won't be here 

There are things I could say but X don' t 

I know the mercy of God must be near 

I've been riding the midnight train 

Got ice water in my veins 

I would be crazy if I took you back 

It would go up against every rule 

You left me standing in the doorway, crying 

Suffering like a fool 

When the last rays of daylight go down 
Buddy, you'll roll no more 

I can hear the church bells ringing in the yard 

I wonder who they' re ringing for 

I know T can' t win 

But my heart just won't give in 

Last night I danced with a stranger 

But she just reminded me you were the one 

You left me standing in the doorway crying 

In the dark land of the sun 

I'll eat when I'm hungry, drink when I'm dry 

And live my life on the square 

And even if the flesh falls off my face 



* * 



73 



42 CONTINUED: (2) / .. 42 

I know ■ someone will be. there to care 
It always means so much 
Even the softest touch 

I see nothing to be gained by any explanation 
There are no words that need to be said 
You left me standing in the doorway crying 
Blues wrapped around iniy head ' 

43 INT..' S OUNDST AGE ~ CONTINUOUS 43 

Jack -Fate, puts ’the .guitar* down and exits past the 
ventriloquist. -The Dummy .speaks to the Ventriloquist. 

■ DUMMY' 

I .-like that song. It shows you can 
/ triumph over the malice .of others, the 
forces of envy. It's not just some 
tragic' reenactment of the past. Songs 
aren't meant. to be original or say 
something that's never been said. He 
puts forth the common sense of the 
subject. I like what it says about 
life. Life is not something you can 
rewind or fast forward. We can't 
control the timing of the universe. 

■ We better get used to it. 

. VENTRILOQUIST 
That's easy for you to say. 

CUT TO: 

44 INT. PRESIDENTIAL MANSION - NIGHT ‘ 44 

Inside the bedroom, the President lies close to death. 

At his bedside are pictures of his family from long ago, 
particularly affectionate pictures from long ago of him 
and the young Jack Fate. But none of those people are 
present in the room. Instead, the 'impersonal' 
assistants from the previous scene and a caretaker sit 
with him. He shrieks in pain and fear and delusion. He 
is calmed down and medicated as we 



CUT TO: 




74 



45 INT. HOTEL ROOM 



45 



Pagan Lace lights candles at her newly erected altar and 
perforins her obsessive, compulsive ritual. Outside, we 
see mobs are gathering and losing control in £ ron ^ ? r ® 
building protected by the 'police 1 . We watch Tom Friend 
struggle through the crowd, into the hotel. Then Tom 
Friend enters the room. Dishevelled from his experience 
downstairs Pagan Lace doesn't notice he has come in until 
she has completed her ritual. 

PAGAN LACE ■ 

Where have you been? 



TOM FRIEND 

They bumped off another taxi driver. 

He crosses to the window. 

PAGAN LACE 

What' s going on out there? 

TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

Down there in that stinking courtyard, 
that jail. They're trying to bust out 
a political prisoner. Either that or 
they're trying to bust in and take the 
damn child molester out and hang him 
from the lamp post. Hell, I don't 
know . 



PAGAN LACE 

You're rattled, Tom. What's bugging 
you? 



TOM FRIEND 

What's bugging me? The absurdity of a 
lifetime of futile labor. That's 
what's bugging me. Condemned to some 
pointless task. I'm trying to track 
down some guy and ask him the meaning 
of life... Look at that crowd down 
there. Life itself is the meaning of 
lif e . 

She joins him at the window. 

PAGAN LACE 

Your problem is you're looking at the 
bug on your windshield, Tom. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED': 

’* "PAGAN LACE (cont'd) 

If you keep .looking at it you're gonna 
miss the scenery and have an accident. 
You gotta look through the windshield 
not at--.it. 

Tom is shocked, he* looks at her. 

TOM FRIEND 
- (incredulous) 

What's that?... Why don't you go off 
somewhere? Why -don't you find a nice 
beach' bum, gigolo,, or stud. 

She laughs', refusing to’ take him seriously. 

s . ■ PAGAN LACE’* 

■ ‘-. v. Tom-'- 

> ' • ' . * 

.' . . . -TOM FRIEND 
- ■ (half to. himself) 

' * . .It ' sa dictatorship and it's 

getting . worse by the day .. .Newspapers 
’ * ar ® sll a false, map of the world. You 
■ ' ever heard of the AIDS epidemic? 

PAGAN LACE 

Yeah. 

TOM -FRIEND 

What if I told you it was cooked up by 
some. Mau-Mau men in Africa and they 
gave it to British sailors. How about 
the Vietnam War, you ever heard of 
that one? What if I told you it was 
lost in the whorehouses of Saigon 
instead of on the battlefield. 

PAGAN LACE 

How ‘do you know that stuff? 

TOM FRIEND 

You never reveal your sources. 



PAGAN LACE 

Be careful, Tom. The light in your 
brain will go off. 



(CONTINUED) 




76 



45 CONTINUED: (2) 



45 



TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

I never thought I had a brain until 
now. 



CUT TO: 

46 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT 46 

Uncle Sweetheart is standing by himself, singing. He's 
holding a sheaf of papers. He's drinking from his flask. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
(singing ) 

Who's that a-coming, John the 
Revelator. 

Percy and Blunt appear. 

PERCY 

Hey, Sweetheart. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Ah, the two scavengers. Somebody must 
have left some scraps of food lying 
around . 

Long pause as Percy and Blunt size up their options. 

Uncle Sweetheart is unafraid. Finally: 

PERCY 

Your bones break easy, you know. 



They exit. 



CUT TO: 

47 INT. HOTEL ROOM - CONTINUOUS 47 

Tom Friend is high. Pagan Lace tries to clean him up, 
picking stuff off his jacket, wiping his sweaty face, 
etc . 



TOM FRIEND 

Stop asking me stuff. 

PAGAN LACE 

But I need to know so I can understand 
things . 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: *' ‘ " * 47 

% • * • 

TOM FRIEND 

What -do you need to understand? 

She .tries to clean. some blood off his hands. She scrubs 
furiously. 



PAGAN LACE 

Everybody's got something in their 
past, Tom. Why don't you tell me 
what'*s hiding back there. 

He takes a. deep -breath. . She puts down the now bloody 
cloth. . • • - 

' ‘•’.PAGAN LACE‘‘ (cont'd) 

. ■ ; - • ’. V .. (softly)' . .. 

■- '* * Teil me.-; * 

• . • \ ■ 

He" takes --.another ;- deep ’breath..' A swig of whisky. 

‘ ‘ ■ • ; ' PAGAN*. LACE (cont'd) 

» Go ' ahead/ ' \ 

. * * * 

TOM FRIEND 

(another deep breath) 

I grew up on a farm. I slept with the 
cows. My old man broke his leg, 
became addicted to drugs, then he 
became a -missionary. We had nothing 
against rats, but we used to have to 
shoot them because they'd eat the 
potatoes and flour. If rats were like 
frogs and ate water and mud, we would 
have left them alone. Then we lived 
in a mobile - home park. We lived in a 
Prowler next to the Holiday Rambler 
and the Nomad. I had a baby horse. 

• it meant everything to me. I wouldn't 
have traded it for a racehorse. The 
saddle was so small you could've put 
it on a cat. My old man, he went down 
the tunnel of love, the dark ride. It 
was the only way he could go. At 
carnival time, everybody had to put on 
a mask, and you had to eat and drink 
through your mask. Somebody brought 
me what I thought was’ eggs and home 
fries, and I gobbled it down. Then 
somebody told me later I'd eaten the 
flesh of my old man. 



(CONTINUED) 



78 



47 CONTINUED: (2) 



47 



PAGAN LACE 

Fuck. 

She returns to the altar and begins praying. Ton Friend 
weeps silently. We move to a radio on the night table. 

RADIO ANNOUNCER (V.O.) 

The President hasn't been seen in 
weeks. Some fear the worst. 

Spokesman for the ailing leader said 
quote, he is wearing the harness of 
necessity, unquote... 



CUT TO: 

48 EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - MORNING 48 

The armed man is standing guard at the gate. A passerby 
stops -- an old, Picasso-like man. 

OLD MAN 

What's going on in there? 

ARMED MAN 

I'm not at liberty to say. 

OLD MAN 

How do you get into this club? 

ARMED MAN 

You go by night, to a certain 
fountain, find the girl who'll be 
there and rape her. Then you become 
one of the big boys. You're an easy 
mark. Then you're in the club. 

You're the front man. You've taken 
the path of least resistance. They 
put you at the head of the gang. Now 
you're in the inner ring of the inner 
ring. That's how it works. 

The old man considers this, then walks away. 



CUT TO: 

49 INT. NINA'S TRAILER - CONTINUOUS. 49 

Jack Fate sits strumming on Blind Lemon' s guitar with 
Uncle Sweetheart, who fans himself. 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: !■’: 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Ooh, ..it's hot- in here. The air 
conditioner must be on the blink. 

Nina enters .waving ‘a piece of paper. 

NINA 

These are the lyrics to "Jailhouse 
Rock. This is a song that the 
executives are insisting be played. 

\ .UNCLE SWEETHEART 
VJailhouse Rq.ck?" Why do they want to 
hear. ..that? 

• ' * * * . .. . JNINA ■ J 

Just look, a t th e^ lyrics, Sweetheart. 

. \ Like, "the -warden threw a party in a 
; .county* jail." They- see it as a song 
•\ of hope. Some ..kind of egalitarian 
.... • thing'. # They want to plant seeds of 
'■ hope .' ■ 

. * * ■ * 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Lots of people have tried to plant 
seeds of hope-. 

NINA 

Yeah, but seeds don' t grow if you 
plant -them on a carpet or a hardwood 
floor. You got to put them in' the 
earth, where they come in contact with 
the soil. 



•UNCLE SWEETHEART 

What do you think. Jack? . "Jailhouse 
Rock?': 



Jake Fate rises and addresses Uncle Sweetheart. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, well, uh, do you know what 
cellulose is, Uncle? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Cellulose? 



(CONTINUED) 



80 



49 CONTINUED: (2) 



49 



JACK FATE (cont'd) 

Yeah, cellulose. It's in the grass. 

A cow can digest it, but you can't... I 
can't either. 

Jack exits. 



NINA 

(exasperated) 

What's this all about? You know that 
reporter who was here yesterday? Why 
didn't anybody talk to him? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I thought somebody did talk to him. 

NINA 

No, there wasn't any story anywhere 
and we need the publicity. The 
network is demanding it. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

You're winding yourself up too tight. 
NINA 

Don't play dumb with me. You're 
smarter than that. Sweetheart. You're 
hiding your light under a bushel. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Well, maybe I am, but it's no big 
deal . 

NINA 

You have no passion for this. You 
have no feeling. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Passions and feelings are a curse that 
the gods strike you with. It's very 
hard to make them compatible with 
living. 



NINA 

Gods, what do you know about gods? 
These network heads are the gods. 

They work their will with no blood in 
their bodies. They don't know the 
future, nor do they answer questions. 
(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



81 



49 CONTINUED: (3)-*., 

' > -NINA (cont'd) 

They. play on our dream states like a- 
concertina. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
I've seen 'em. 

NINA 

Yeah? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

They'-re not gods, they're nothing but 
preachers and lawyers and hired agents 
and -professional speakers. They all 
have vested interests and we can 
■ *; discount whatever' they say. 

■ Both Nina 'and Uncle Sweetheart are angry. 

"* , (l * . ■ t #■ 

• v *' .* . . ■* NINA 

- ... Maybe you can. Sweetheart, but not me. 

I have to work. with them. I have to 

... * ■ . " ; eat ^ ■ 

She exits. Uncle Sweetheart follows. 

50 EXT. STREET -CONTINUOUS 

We follow him out .onto the street where ahead of him Jack 
Fate walks along. Bobby Cupid follows. Uncle Sweetheart 
comes running after them. In the background we see Nina 
.Veronica look .on alarmed, then run back inside. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Hey! Wait a second, Jack! 

They turn around. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

I screwed up. I screwed up big time. 

BOBBY CUPID 

That's one thing about you. 

Sweetheart. You don't do nothing 
small time. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Shut up, I'm not talking to you. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

A couple of guys are chasing me down. 

I made 'em some promises. 



(CONTINUED) 




82 



50 CONTINUED: 



50 



JACK FATE 

Promises are hard to fulfill. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I had to borrow money. Jack. I did a 
stupid thing. I borrowed money to buy 
something that's been decreasing in 
value ever since I owned it. Ain't 
that a bitch. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, well, you live and learn, don't 
you. 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Don't you understand? I'm trying to 
get free of my mistakes... I've got a 
family. Jack. I'm not going to become 
a burden to my children. Don't leave, 
Jack. You know I'm not some vicious 
person in a position of wealth and 
power . 



JACK FATE 

No. You're like a chemist who invents 
a new drug and doesn't care about the 
side effects. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
I'm in over my head. 

BOBBY CUPID 

You're nothing but a piker, a door to 
door encyclopedia salesman. You'd 
commit treason against your own self. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Who's talking to you? 

BOBBY CUPID 

Common sense, that's who. William 
Faulkner, that's who. "Absalom, 
Absalom". Every word of "The Fall of 
the House of Usher", is rolling around 
my head. The voices inside my head. 
That's who. Screw this so-called 
concert. Jack. These cats are just 
addicted to lights and sound. Let's 
go someplace where we can see the 
earth and sky. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




50 



50 CONTINUED:* (2): 

* .BOBBY CUPID (cont'd) 

Let's go to the South Seas. Let's go 
to where Gauguin went and disappear 
for awhile. Someplace where we can 
relax and not be nervous around these 
people, these wretches .of humanity. 

This guy her.e, he's like a praying 
mantis. He doesn't kill his victims. 

He just paralyzes them, feeds off 
them. He don't kill nothing. He's 
too smart for that.. 

Uncle Sweetheart 'grabs him by the collar, pulling him 
close. 

’UNCLE SWEETHEART 
. '(softly) * 

1 -don't know. which -one of those voices 
is coming .'out -of .‘^your mouth, but tell 
. • • it to 'shut, the fuck up. 

■ . ■ ■ .- - > . • 

.He .releases- -him. 

’.'•UNCLE/ SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

.•Gauguin was a stockbroker-. 

He stands there, as they walk away. 

JACK FATE 
(to Bobby Cupid) 

I got to borrow your car for awhile. 

BOBBY CUPID 
Yeah, it's over here. 

They reach a beat up old jalopy. 

BOBBY CUPID (cont'd) 

You gonna need any help? 

JACK FATE 

Just let me have the keys. 

■ .Bobby Cupid has a big ring of keys. He hands Jack Fate 
the key. Jack gets in and starts it up. He drives away, 
leaving Bobby Cupid and Uncle Sweetheart alone on the 
• dusty road. They exchange an awkward glance then turn and 
head back together. 



CUT TO: 



51 



EXT. .ROAD - NIGHT 

The car's been wrecked. It # s in a ditch. The ho°d is 
up, it's smoking. We pan past the car and find Jack Fate 
as he crosses a cemetery. Finally, he stops in front o£ 
a modest marker. It reads: MARY, BELOVED MOTHER OF JACK 
1942- AND EDWARD 1945-1946. Beside this grave a new 
unmarked hole is dug. 

CUT TO: 



FLASHBACK #5 - APPROXIMATELY 1968 

This is a camera planted, hidden, probably in the closet 
of a hotel room. The son, now 27, is waiting in t e 
hotel room. A bottle of whisky sits prominently m the 
otherwise antiseptic environment. The son walks up to 
the camera and acknowledges it. He is a party to the 
deception. He is culpable. The father's beautiful 
mistress enters. She knows nothing of the camera. sne 
is plied with drink, and quickly she and the son become 

amorous 



52 



JACK FATE (V.O.) 

The last thing I would've ever wanted 
to do would be to disrupt the 
authority of my father. I wouldn't 
have done that for anything. I guess 
you could say I was under the spell of 
my mother. And my mother, she had a 
few, little' problems . Little problems 
can get blown out of proportion in a 
big way. Sometimes people have more 
than they need, and more than they 
deserve. Because you can only do a 
little bit, you do nothing. And I 
didn't want to be. like that. Some of 
us pursue perfection and virtue, and 
if we're lucky we catch up to it, but 
happiness can't be pursued. It either 
comes to you or it don't. You can 
always say, if only this, or if only 
that, but "if only" is a state of mind 
that we get into when we feel 
deprived. In the end, it's the 
strongest arm that stretches the bow. 



CUT TO: 



53 



53 EXT. HOUSE-- NIGHT * 

We recognize it -as the house from the earlier flashback. 

CUT TO: 

54 INT. HOUSE - NIGHT c 

A warm glow from a fire lights the house. Old "Jack 
Fate"- music wafts through the room. There is a knock at 
•the door. The beautiful mistress' from the flashback, now 
slightly older enters and. crosses to answer it and is 
not ..surprised to find.:Jack Fate at her threshold. 

t : . . t ‘ . / . DISSOLVE TO: 

55 - INT..' HOUSE .-' LATER ' .-V - V * c 

* . . • , • \ ‘ « 

-Jack Fate and the MISTRESS .sit together. She treats his 
■ cut 

' 7 ' : *' ■'* MISTRESS 

I ■ Wondered if you would ever return. 

I wondered if I'd ever see you again. 

You' were pretty beaten and banged up 
that night. 

JACK FATE 

That was. a bad night. 

MISTRESS 

You never resolved it with him, did 
you? 

' JACK FATE 
Too many loose ends. 

MISTRESS 

You're gonna try to straighten it out 
with him? You think you can? 

JACK FATE 

It can't be straightened out. It'll 
, . never be. Not by me, anyway. 

MISTRESS 

Then what are you coming back for y 
Jack? He's on his death bed. 



(CONTINUED) 




55 CONTINUED: 



55 



. JACK FATE 

I gotta see him. I'm tired of not 
seeing him. 

MISTRESS 

You gave it all away, didn't you? You 
gave all the best of you away. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, I did. I gave it to them all. 
All them sons of bitches who are 
either unwilling or unable to accept 
it . 



MISTRESS 

Yeah we all did... I heard you tried 
to kill yourself. I heard you took 
the car that night, drained the brake 
fluid out of it, took some Valium and 
went for a ride. 

JACK FATE 

I'm still here, ain't I? 



A pause. 



MISTRESS (cont'd) 

...Your father was a good man. 

JACK FATE 

Sure he was. He caused senseless 
death, endless tears, needless loss, 
but sure, if you wanna say he was a 
good man, he was a good man. 

MISTRESS 

Your mama. Jack. You wouldn't have 
had nothing to do with me if it wasn' t 
for her... If you wanna go see him, 
you better go now. I hope it's not 
too late. 



JACK FATE 

It's late, and it's always been late. 
MISTRESS 

Don't forget. A home is a refuge, 
Jack. A relaxing place for the heart 
and mind. You can come here anytime. 
(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



87 



55 CONTINUED: <2) r ' * - i 

’■ 'MISTRESS (cont'd) 

What can I - do for you? I wanna do 
. something for- you. What can I do? 

JACK FATE 

Go get the keys to the boathouse. Row 
me out onto 'the lake, I wanna see the 
sun rise. 

DISSOLVE TO: 

56 EXT. ' PRESIDENTIAL MANSION-DAWN. c 

Jack Fate walks up to the heavily armed guard gate. He 
is. stopped by 'numerous., -soldiers who train their weapons 
on him. .One guard . steps . forward and shine's a light on 
his face.- Jack's- cut is completely healed. They seem to 
r.ecognize him. 

* ‘ ‘ , > 1 / • - . ’ » * * 

.. • CUT TO: 

♦ " ■ * • m ■ ‘ 

57 ■ . TNT. 'PRESIDENTIAL MANSION HALLWAY - DAY 5 

Jack Fate walks down -the ' hallway accompanied by EDMUND. 

* EDMUND 
Long time. Jack. 

- JACK FATE 

Yeah, it's been awhile. So much 
happens, don't it, in such a short 
time? 

EDMUND 

Seems like only yesterday. 

'JACK FATE 
Maybe to you. 

• EDMUND 

We used to play together out there, in 
the back. While my mother cleaned 
this house, my father took care of the 
grounds. We were illegal back then. 

We're not illegal anymore. We're in 
charge now. Jack. 

JACK FATE 

Yeah, I remember your ma. She was a 
wonderful lady. Asked permission 
before she did anything. 



(CONTINUED) 



88 



57 CONTINUED: 



57 



EDMUND 

Yeah, before she'd pluck a leaf off a 
tree, she'd ask permission. 

JACK FATE 

Couldn't wash away the real dirt, 
though. 



EDMUND 

Nah, nobody could. 
They walk along. 



EDMUND (cont'd) 

I'm the man your father wanted you to 
be. I'm the next President of this 
country . 



JACK FATE 

Yeah, that' s ■ something, isn't it. 
EDMUND 

You know how it is. Jack. When 
inferior people want to revolt, they 
do. And when they become equal, they 
want to be superior. You're looking 
at the top man now. Jack. It's no dog 
and pony show. We're not just some 
macho men from the flea market. 

JACK FATE 

You got any new kind of manifesto? 



EDMUND 

Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. I 
have my speech already prepared. 

He walks through the onlookers that sit vigil, camped out 
around the stage where the Presidents death bed is 
perched behind the curtain. They barely react to 
Edmund's speech.. 



EDMUND (cont'd) 

Ladies and gentleman. People of the 
republic. We are now a nation of 
laws. The laws of common sense, which 
from now forthcoming will overrule all 
other laws. 



(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: (2) 

■ EDMUND (cont'd) 

As far as rights go, all .people aren't 
. entitled 'to' the same rights. Freedom 
is only for people who can practice 
self control. Let me say we no longer 
have any cause to fear danger from 
abroad. Our 'strength and power is 
well known throughout the civilized 
world. It is from within amongst 
ourselves, from cupidity, corruption, 

/ disappointed ambition,, and inordinate 
‘ . thirst '.for power that factions will be 
-formed and liberty, .endangered. It is 
■against -such designs that we 
,• especially have 1 to. guard ourselves. 

- ; Whatever disguises' the actors may 
, ' assume, we have - the highest of human 
. . * * - ■ trust committed r to. our. care. We are 

*■ . . ''not Nazis;.' We do -not •believ'e in 

racial superiority, . because here there 
is no . racial unity -.because here we 
' Vhave' all races ' and ' creeds . There will 

• , be .no ..more, violence in the organized 

media. Real- .‘actual violence will take 
'the'place of manufactured violence . 

We have the good of .society at heart. 

We will bring back public displays of 
games * We are going to empty the 
prisons. -We will fill the football 
stadiums. We will have evil-doers 
from the prisons trampled by wild 
elephants, mauled by uncaged bears, 
pecked to death by screaming eagles. 

And finally, there will be great 
satisfaction for the people, who have 
struggled so bravely and fought so 
fiercely for their much cherished 
independence. . . 

He breathes heavily. We hear thunder and see flashes of 
lightening. A storm erupts. Jack moves past him and 
enters his father's quarters. Jack sits by the bed of 
his dying ^ father, the President. They are silent. 
Although it is silent, it is a silence of lament, of 
melancholy, an elegiac silence. A silence beyond any 
words. Silence is the only appropriate response. There 
are too many words unspoken to start now. Too many 
promises broken. Finally, Jack takes the President's 
hand and he closes his eyes. 



90 



58 FLASHBACK #6 - APPROXIMATELY 1968 58 

Inside the hotel room. The son and the mistress, 
together. Before long, the door is kicked in and looming 
in the doorway is the father and his goons . The son is 
caught inflagrante delicto. The father grabs the son, as 
the goons look on and cover him. The father drags the 
son out of the room. The camera cones cautiously out of 
the closet, in time to witness the son being thrown 
unceremoniously down the stairs by the father, as the 
goons and the horrified woman look on. The goons 
suddenly become aware of the camera's presence and 
quickly catch the cameraman and beat him, and as the 
camera falls, that is the end of the transmission. Until 
now. . . 

JACK FATE (V.O.) 

...If I know nothing else, I know at 
least one thing is true: that the 

sacred is in the ordinary, the common 
things in life. They tell you that 
everything is nonsense, that the laws 
of nature are nonsense, gravity is 
nonsense, relationships don’t exist, 
jobs don’t exist. Everything is up 
for grabs and there’s no cause of 
anything. That's what they'd like you 
to believe. I guess you could say I 
was pushed downhill, but my fall from 
grace didn't end at the bottom of 
those stairs. It went on, and it 
seemed to' go on forever. All of life 
is a balancing act, and we make 
choices between extremes. Conformity 
or freedom. Acceptance or doubt. 

Humility or raging ego. We have to 
make choices. People mistake fact for 
opinion. The easiest enemy to 
overcome is an opinionated one. 

Expect the worst, and you'll get it. 

That's about all he ever taught me. 

In jail, there are a lot of guilty 
guys who are innocent. Outside, 
there are a lot of innocent guys that 
are guilty. . . All of us in some way 
are trying to kill time. When it's 
all said and done, time ends up 
killing us. 



CUT TO: 



91 



59 INT. PRESIDENT'S BEDROOM 59 

Jack kisses his father on the head. His father opens his 
eyes ’for a moment, a brief moment, perhaps of 
recognition, acknowledgement - then closes them again. 

Jack exits. * 

CUT TO: 

* / 

60. INT.. SOUNDSTAGE*- DAY 60 

Nina .crosses t-o her trailer ' as Uncle Sweetheart chases 
after her . ■ ... . ■ 

. ' • .* ’ *-■ / NINA 

I 7 m'-puliirig the plug.- I can't wait* 

. • ; * anymore. •• It's oVer. 

.*'./. ' UNCLE 'SWEETHEART 

. . VJait- a little^ longer. What harm will 
• * ' ”'it'dd : to* .wait? /.’He' 11 show up, I said 

, • he' d show up. 

Bobby Cupid joins’ this parade. 

BOBBY CUPID 

■ Let her pull the plug. What the 
hell's the difference, anyway. 

Tom Friend walks up to the group. 

TOM FRIEND 

What's going on here? .Are you 
cancelling the concert? Do I get the 
exclusive? You made promises, 

S'weetheart. Big promises. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

I did? Well, I don't remember. . I got 
amnesia. Get the fuck out of my face, 
ink slinger. 

They lunge at each other. Bobby Cupid and a couple of 
crew guys try to break it up. Suddenly, surprisingly. 

Jack Fate enters like nothing happened. He's been up all 
night. He's wet from the rain. They see him and let go 
of each other. There is an awkward silence ; Then: 



(CONTINUED) 




92 



60 CONTINUED: 



60 



BOBBY CUPID 
(to Jack Fate) 

Hey, I got one for you. 

You know the difference between a 
stupid person and a pizza? One is 
easy to cheat and the other is cheesy 
to eat. 

There is silence again, then: Jack and Bobby Cupid 

laugh. They walk off together. 



CUT TO: 

61 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY 61 

MONTAGE: Hard working crew, putting the pieces together. 

We see people building, sawing, hammering, pulling 
cables, lifting, we see Nina Veronica, Uncle Sweetheart, 
and Bobby Cupid. 

CUT TO: 

62 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY 62 

Jack Fate and the band rehearsing "Drifters Escape", and 
this is the soundtrack of the montage. 

LYRICS 

"Oh, help me in my weakness," 

I heard the drifter say, 

As they carried him from the courtroom 
And were taking him away. 

"My trip hasn't been a pleasant one 
And my time it isn't long, 

And I still do not know 

What it was that I've done wrong." 

Well, the judge, he cast his robe aside, 

A tear came to his eye, 

"You fail to understand," he said, 



(CONTINUED) 



93 



62 CONTINUED: 




62 



"Why must you even try?" 

Outside, the crowd was stirring. 

You could hear it from the door. 

Inside, the judge was stepping down, 

While the jury, cried for more'.- 
"Oh,, stop that cursed .jury,'-" 

Cried the attendant and the nurse, 

. "The .trial' was bad enough > . 

But this is. ten times ‘ worfee. " * 

• . . \ w 

*• / • ■ •• ’■ ■ . '• ' ' CUT TO: 

63 * INT . -SOUNDSTAGE . *• ' 63 

Pagan Lace, off. by herself, talks to no one in 
particular. •’ 

PAGAN LACE 

I love his songs 'cause they're not 
precise. They're emotionally 
ambiguous. Nobody else will do that. 

They invite different interpretations . 

She exits,* as Uncle Sweetheart approaches Jack with a 
MOTHER and her SEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD. The child seems 
sweet, but is holding a toy gun. The mother wears a cast 
on her arm. 



MOTHER 

(to Jack Fate) 

It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fate. 
JACK FATE 

(to Uncle Sweetheart) 

Who's this? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

This is Mrs. Brown, and she's got a 
lovely daughter. 



(CONTINUED) 




94 



63 CONTINUED: 



63 



MRS. BROWN 

My daughter has memorized all of your 
songs . 

JACK FATE 

Is that so? Why' d she do that? 

MRS. BROWN 

'Cause I made her, that's why. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

What do you think of that. Jack? Used 
to be she'd be sweating away in some 
factory, underage. Now we got child 
labor laws. All these kids, we took 
'em out of the factories, put 'em in 
the streets. How 'bout that? Anyway, 
she wants to sing for you. She wants 
to sing her little heart out. Let her 
sing. Go ahead, darling. 

The mother nods to the child, and the child begins to 
sing, "The Times, They are A Changin'." 

LYRICS 

Come gather 'round people 

Wherever you roam 

And admit that the waters 

Around you have grown 

And accept it that soon 

You'll be drenched to the bone. 

If your time to you 
Is worth savin' 

Then you better start swimmin' 

Or you'll sink like a stone 

For the times they are a-changin' . 

Come writers and critics 



(CONTINUED) 



95 



63 CONTINUED: (2) / .. 63 

Who prophesize with your pen 
And keep your eyes wide - 
The chance won' t come again 
And don't speak too soon 
For the wheel.', s still in spin 
And there' s /no tellin' who ■ ‘ 

That it's namin'./ 

For the loser' now ■' * . . 

.Wili‘ be later ‘to win ' ■ * • ' 

. For the / times, they are a-changin' . 

Come senators/ congressmen 

* ‘ * " * ■ ■ 

Please heed the call . 

Don't stand in the doorway 

Don' t block up the hall 

■For he that gets hurt 

Will be he who has stalled 

There's a' battle outside 

And it is ragin' . 

It'll soon shake your windows 

And rattle your walls 

For the times they are a-changin' 

Come mothers and fathers 

Throughout the land 

And don't criticize 

What you can' t understand 



(CONTINUED) 




96 



l 63 CONTINUED: (3) 



63 



C 



£ 



ft 






t- 




Your sons and your daughters 
Are beyond your command 
Your old road is 
Rapidly agin' 

Please get out of the new one 

If you can' t lend your hand 

For the times they are a-changin' . 

The line it is drawn 
The curse it is cast 
The slow one now 
Will later be fast 
As the present now 
Will later be past 
The order is 
Rapidly fadin' . 

And the first one now 
Will later be last 

For the times they are a-changin' . 

JACK FATE 

Gotta get this girl into school. 

Jack Fate takes a quarter out of his pocket, and proceeds 
to make the quarter disappear and then reappear behind 
the child's ear. Mrs. Brown and her daughter exit in one 
direction, Jack Fate and Uncle Sweetheart in the other. 
Mrs. Brown and her daughter cross Tom Friend and Pagan 
Lace as they pass the FORTUNE TELLER. Tom Friend stops. 

TOM FRIEND 

You're one of them fortune tellers, 
eh? One of them gypsies. 



(CONTINUED) 



97 



63 CONTINUED: (4)* / 63 



' . . ■ FORTUNE TELLER 

I can tell you anything. What would 
you like • to- know? 

TOM FRIEND 

Gypsies. Isn't that, short for 
Egyptian? You people built the 
pyramids. What happened to you? I've 
■ ' been to Egypt. Those people now look 
.. like they couldn' t build -any pyramids. 

. Must-be a .different kind of Egyptian. 

; " FORTUNE TELLER 

, You're so’ knowing. Why don't you show 
• me your, hand? 

, .*> * " . . . ■ . . * 

Pagan.seems .frightened. 

* • * ■' .. V . . ■ 

• * ■ "• •• .PAGAN. LACE 

... • . Tom, we should keep moving. 

' * * • p. f 

TOM FRIEND ■ 

(ignoring her) 

Here's my hand. Take a peek. 

She starts reading his palm. Pagan Lace closes her eyes 
and begins praying. She takes out some prayer beads. 

. * ’ FORTUNE TELLER 

I see here you have a genius for 
dealing with people ... You' re a man of 
many talents, but they're not being 
used. ... 



TOM FRIEND 
Tell me more . 

FORTUNE TELLER 

...Your laziness stands in front of 
you and the life you've dreamed of. 
You're living in a nation that's dying 
a slow death. Look at the faces on 
your money. Slave owners and Indian 
fighters. They'll soon be replaced by 
the faces of strangers. Look at your 
sacred monuments and your tombs of 
heroes. They're being desecrated and 
upturned. Everything your nation has 
stood for. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



98 



63 CONTINUED: (5) 

FORTUNE TELLER (cont'd) 

Every commitment, every truth, every 
ideal, everything of beauty, all these 
things are being stripped away. You- 
are living in a world where all the 
jewels, diamonds, pearls, and rubies 
have been replaced by queer replicas. 

I see a lot of anger here, and you 
scoff at things you don't understand. 

Tom scoffs, looks at Pagan. She is immersed in prayer. 

FORTUNE TELLER 

And you, young lady. Lemme see that 
hand . 

At first, Pagan doesn't respond. Then, she snaps out of 
her reverie. 



PAGAN LACE 

Yeah, me? What about me? 

The fortune teller takes Pagan's hand. Pagan gasps. Her 
beads break and go flying everywhere. 

FORTUNE TELLER 
You have feelings you don't 
understand, that's because in one of 
your past lives, you were the daughter 
of a pope. You were hidden from the 
world. That's why in this life you 
feel like you've been trampled over. 

And it's true. You are being trampled 
over. Don't you feel like you're 
being trampled over? 

(pointing to a line on her 
palm) 

See this here? Someone you trust 
could get you in trouble this week... 

The fortune teller lets go of Pagan Lace, who tries to 
retrieve the scattered beads. The fortune teller then 
turns to Tom Friend. 

FORTUNE TELLER (cont'd) 

You son, you're about to enter a new 
and serious realm. . . The world of the 
unknown. 



TOM FRIEND 

Go on. 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: ! < 6) . 



. FORTUNE TELLER 

•Your place of existence is temporal. 

I see ..that you write things down. 

This is a .good sign. . 

TOM FRIEND 
(sotto) 

I'm the voice of the people. Ha-ha. 

• FORTUNE TELLER 

There -are a few things -you should be 
concerned about. ‘Things could take an 
/upward turn,... but .you will first have 
■ to give up your high-tech lifestyle. 

; TOM.’ FRIEND ‘ 

*’ (hands her money) 4 

•. -,Yeah/ my .high-tech lifestyle. Okay, 

•• '* . : -here.* ;i've heard'.enough. Is there 

anymore? ‘ 

• *7 ' * -■ ‘ ’FORTUNE TELLER 

I- see by this line here -that you're 
still' .looking for something that 
you've already found. A temptation 
tugs at your- roots, but it's a trap. 

See this line here? Someone is 
- praying that .you' 11 escape this ■ 
trap. . . 

She looks into Tom's eyes and speaks with greater 
emphasis. 



FORTUNE TELLER (cont'd) 
Victory comes from avoiding it ■ 

■ altogether or running swiftly from it. 

Tom is struck by this ominous line. 

PAGAN 

(as she finishes gathering 
her beads) 

Tom, that's enough. Let's go. 

FORTUNE TELLER 

Beware of the majority. You must be 
skeptical of the majority, the brave 
and the good were never in the 
majority. I see by this line that you 
are a strong-willed individual. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




100 



63 CONTINUED: (7) ' 

FORTUNE TELLER (cont'd) J 
Literature is your voice. And. 
literature my friend is the voice that 
outlives the body. Yes, you are the 
voice of the people. You have an 
inquisitive mind, a mind that demands 
justice. I see*by this line here that 
you're at a crossroads. You're a 
writer who writes the same sentence 
over and over again. 

He pulls his hand away. 

TOM FRIEND 

Let's get the hell out of here. 

Tom storms away. Before Pagan can exit, the fortune 
teller grabs her hand. The fortune teller's mouth doesn t 
move, but Pagan hears the following. 

FORTUNE TELLER (V.O.) 

I see a dark haired individual who 
looms large in your future... Beware 
of Val Xavier and his snakeskin 
jacket . 

Pagan pulls her hand away and exits . Someone else comes 
along and sits down with the fortune teller. We hear the 
storm outside. 



CUT TO: 

64 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - CONTINUOUS ( 

We angle on Nina in her cubicle. She sits at her desk, 
feet up. She's on the phone, listening to the radio at 
the same time. 

NINA 

Thank you. I'll pass that advice along 
to him. 

She slams down the phone. In a distressed state, she 
listens to the following. 

RADIO ANNOUNCER (V.O.) 

Geologists in Trenton are digging the 
world’s deepest hole and have reached 
a depth of thirty miles. Something 
went amiss when the drill bit began to 
rotate wildly out of control. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



64 CONTINUED:’’ 

' * RADIO ANNOUNCER (cont'd) 

Geologists • measured the temperature 
down there as .up to 3,000 degrees. 

They have lowered microphones into the 
pit and heard the sounds of millions 
of suffering souls. Dr. Samosa, at 
the project management center, has 
determined that the center of the 
earth is hollow. "Hopefully," he 
says, "whatever is down there will 
stay down there." Work has ground to 
a halt-. And many of the scientists 
..have , feared for their lives. In the 
.west,- rain is 'expected, and heavy 
snowfall is -moving in from the 
' _ ‘ .plains. . . • \ 

Nina ‘.picks ‘up the phone and dials, but gets only a busy 
- -signal. -.-We' hear, the storm..'/ . , 

• ■/' ■ * * ■ ■ X . ■*. / ■ CUT TO: 

65 INT .’..SOUNDSTAGE ’ - CONTINUOUS 65 

We follow Jack Fate and Bobby Cupid past the holy 
janitor, who is sweeping. He spots Jack Fate and 
approaches them. The janitor hands Jack a flyer that 
reads: Do you believe in aliens? Crop circles? Graffiti 
in the wheat fields? Are you concerned with lasers and 
. fiber optics in the UFO tapestry? If you are ready to 
break with the traditional political process, and are 
concerned with. the future of freedom and liberty come to 
this address. 

66 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - CONTINUOUS 66 

Jack pockets the flyer and steps on stage, joining the 
waiting musicians. He launches into "Tryin' To Get To 
Heaven" on his guitar. 

Lyrics 

The air -is getting hotter 

There's a rumbling in the skies 

I've been wading through the high muddy water 

With the heat rising in my eyes 

Every day your memory grows dimmer 



101 



64 



(CONTINUED) 




102 



66 CONTINUED: 66 

It doesn' t haunt me like it did before 

I've been walking through the middle of nowhere 

Trying to get to heaven before they close the door 

When I was in Missouri 

They would not let me be 

I had to leave there in a hurry 

I only saw what they let me see 

You broke a heart that loved you 

Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore 

I've been walking that lonesome valley 

Trying to get to heaven before they close the door 

People on the platforms 

Waiting for the trains 

I can hear their hearts a-beatin' 

Like pendulums swinging on chains 

When you think that you lost everything 

You find out you can always lose a little more 

I'm just going down the road feeling bad 

Trying to get to heaven before they close the door 

I'm going down the river 

Down to New Orleans 

They tell me everything is gonna be all right 
But I don't know what "all right" means 
I was riding in a buggy with Miss Mary-Jane 
Miss Mary-Jane got a house in Baltimore 



(CONTINUED) 



66 CONTINUED: (2)' > 



66 



I been all around the world, boys 

Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the 
door 

Gonna sleep down in the parlor 

And relive my dreams 

* / 

I'll close my .eyes and I wonder 
If everything -is -as hollow as it seems 
Some trains . don' t. pull- no gamblers 

• No midnight ramblers, like they did before 

'< ■ 4 , * 4 a m ‘ » 

• X -been to. Sugar Town, I shook the sugar down 

Now ..I'm "trying /to .‘get to 'heaven before they close the 

‘ # ' - * i, 4 . 

door 

CUT TO: 

67 INT. DRESSING ROOM - DAY 67 

Bobby Cupid sits with Uncle Sweetheart. Bobby Cupid 
■tries to play .the chords on the guitar, while Uncle 
Sweetheart continues reviewing the voluminous sheaf of 
papers from his bursting briefcase. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Man, I didn- t think he played that 
song anymore. Those chords are so 
unorthodox. That E diminished to F 
Sharp Minor. The way it descends. It 
doesn't even make musical sense, but 
by the way he positions that harmony 
line and changes the beat within the 
structure, it's like a concerto. And 
that doesn't even take into account 
the use of the words. The counterpart 
is always switching places with the 
melody line, especially when the beat 
switches from three to two to go with 
the lyric. I don't know how the hell 
he does that, concentrate on two 
things at the same time. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 




104 



67 CONTINUED: 67 

BOBBY CUPID (cont'd) 

Old Jack, he was always a hundred 
years ahead of his time. 

• UNCLE SWEETHEART 
I don't know what you're talking 
about. If a song works it works. 

Alexander the Great was a hundred 
years ahead of his time, toe. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Who? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Alexander the Great. The cat who 
conquered all of Persia, Africa and 
Egypt. A lot of people don't know 
about him, but he was a great singer, 
too. His mother — and he had a hell 
of a mother — says to him, "Is that 
all you're gonna do with your life? 

Just sing songs to the girls? You 
could be out there doing a lot more, 
son. You could be conquering this god 
forsaken world." You know what he got 
up and did? 

BOBBY CUPID 

(goofing on Uncle Sweetheart) 

Who? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

(exasperated) 

Alexander the Great. That's who I'm 
talking about. He went out and raised 
an army, cooked all his enemies in 
crank case oil, rounded up all the 
wise citizens and doused them in 
canned heat, wiped his mouth, looked 
around, went home, went to bed, and 
died. Left every nation he plundered 
and conquered for his armies to 
divide. Sure, he could've stayed home 
and strummed on his guitar, but you 
never would have heard of him. He 
never would have been Alexander the 
Great . 



BOBBY CUPID 

Well, I don't know. But I don't think 
he had songs like these... 



(CONTINUED) 




105 



67 CONTINUED: (2) * , 



67 



-■UNCLE- SWEETHEART 

Yeah, .but what I'm saying is that you 
don't change the -world just by 
singing. 



BOBBY CUPID. 

Okay, I'll keep it in mind. 

■ ; UNCLE SWEETHEART 

•You got any idea what that song's 
'about? - t • ■ • ' 

... BOBBY -CUPID ' 

Yeah,*, it's about - trying to get to 
. .. . heaven'. JYou got . to. know the route 

....before you.' start out'.' 

■> ' • ' . / ; UNCLE SWEETHEART 

No/'it.' s not about -that at all. What 
; .strikes you .about’ the song is the 
- -‘Jekyll- and Hyde /quality . That's what 
, you -like. It's'written from Hyde's 
point of. view.- It's just like you. 
That's why it rings -so true. . Because 
the whole thing is about doing evil 
and killing your conscience if you 
■can. It's not. like those other songs 
of his. Those other ones about 
faithless' women, booze, brothels, and 
the cruelty of society. This one's 
not like those. This one's right up 
your alley. It's about doing good by 
trying to manipulate the forces of 
evil. Isn't. that why you like it? 
■Isn't .that what you trying to do? 
Admit it. That's what draws you to 
the song. Robert Louis Stevenson, 

' it' s everything he was saying and 
more. It's all in that song. That's 
why you like it. Admit it. 

BOBBY CUPID 

Yeah, okay. If you say so. 

They return to their activities. 



CUT TO: 




106 



68 INT. DRESSING ROOM - DAY 68 

Jack Fate washes his hands, looks at himself in the 
mirror. Tom Friend enters the bathroom. 

TOM FRIEND 

What have I been doing? Pissing and 
missing the bowl? 

Jack faces him. 



TOM FRIEND (cont' d) 

You're avoiding me, but you don't need 
to avoid me. I owe you an apology. I 
just want to know a few things. Who's 
getting the money from this concert? 
Who's pockets is it lining? How much 
are they paying you to trot around the 
ring? I wanna know what pipe of power 
you' re smoking from. Remember Janis 
Joplin, Jack, the Judy Garland of rock 
and roll? She took it all the way, 
didn't she? Lord, all she wanted was 
a Mercedes Benz. I know you knew her. 
Jack. You like people who fall on 
their -knees and fawn all over you. I 
don't do that, that's why you don't 
like me, isn't it? That's why you 
don't want to answer any questions. 

JACK FATE 

I never. really thought about that. 

TOM FRIEND 

Exactly. What about your rejected 
thoughts? Give me a few pieces of the 
puzzle. Tell me about the king of the 
sexual revolutionaries. Hefner, that 
son of the Bible-thumping Baptist. 

You know who I'm talking about. How 
does he figure into this? What about 
that guy, Jack? The guy's slept with 
3,000 women. What the fuck for? He's 
only got three or four kids . He 
should have a thousand kids. He 
should be king of the world. What's 
the point, Jack? What was he sleeping 
with all those women for? What went 
wrong. Tell me. You're supposed to 
have all the answers. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



107 



68 CONTINUED: . 68 

TOM FRIEND (cont'd) 

Sexuality is more revolutionary than 

• any ideology, and you know it. You 
think ‘good and bad are irrelevant? 

Tell me why. I wanna know what the 
hell makes- you tick... And where are 
you going from here? 

JACK FATE 

If I - knew I'd be glad to tell you. 

‘ . . TOM FRIEND 

"That's. a pat answer.- Here's an easy 
'one. Who's your true companion. Jack? 

..Who makes '.ybuf' life -easier? Can you 
. at least . answer ■ that? . 

Jack ‘turns .to . leave'; ' . ** 

• ■ - > ‘ * * 

•' .■ - TOM. FRIEND _ (cont'd) 

... .’.’•Look, ma^n, - I'm on'. your side. I wanna 
■ • . . -'put. your-story on the front page of 

’-the; London -Times. You need the 
^publicity and you know it; You know 
the London Times, Jack? You been in 
England -lately? It- ain't so English 
anymore. You wouldn't recognize the 
place. Big Ben is still there, so's 
.the Tower of London, but it's just a 
theme park. The English are in the 
minority -in their own country. Jack. 

Imagine that. They didn't keep their 
birth rate up. Just a lot of the 
elderly. What Hitler and Napoleon 
couldn't do has been done in a 
bloodless, coup. Churchill wouldn't 
know the place, his beloved country. 

You got your start there, Jack. How 
does- that make you feel? The empire 

* is finished. What do you think about 
all that? That's what I want to 
know... Look, man. I'm on your side. 

JACK FATE 

Don't worry about it. 

TOM FRIEND 

I don't want to be here anymore than 
you do. 

JACK. FATE 
I doubt it. 



(CONTINUED) 




108 



68 CONTINUED: (2) 68 



Jack Fate exits, leaving Tom Friend alone. 

CUT TO: 

69 INT. LONG, LABYRINTHINE CORRIDOR 69 

Jack Fate steps out of the bathroom door and into a dark, 
shadowy, labyrinth. He tries to find his way back to the 
stage. As he does, he passes the following things: 

A. A BLIND MAN; looks like Father Time or Plato. 

BLIND MAN 

You don't know me, but I've heard of 
you. We have a lot in common. Pity 
me. I murdered my father in a 
scuffle, stabbed him in the neck. I 
married my mother in a lavish ceremony 
attended by hundreds. I put out my 
own eyes. I was forewarned that I 
would do this, and by golly, I did. 

All of the pieces of my life are not 
in good shape, but some things are in 
perfect order. It disgusted me when I 
had my fortune read and I was 
forewarned of what I was about to do. 

It was the last thing I ever thought 
would happen. I ran as far as I could 
to get away. I even ran to another 
country and I thought I was safe. I 
never thought it would happen to me, 
killing my father and marrying my 
mother. I wanted to turn and run and 
disappear. But to hear Dr. Freud tell 
it, I had it all planned out from the 
beginning. I'd strangle him if I 
could. He slandered me. He never met 
me. He made it all up. Dr. Freud, he 
wrote about me from cocaine hell. 

Cocaine, that's the only thing he knew 
anything about. His patients paid him 
in it. Cocoa leaf, the curse of the 
Incas, gift of the gods, the divine 
leaf of immortality. He knew it well. 

Thought it gave him more vitality and 
an increase in self control. He sang 
its praises. Psychotherapy, that 
great science, with no fixed laws. An 
entire industry based on cocaine 
fantasies and hallucinations. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



i * 



109 






69 CONTINUED: 1 *' : • ’ . 69 

'> BLIND MAN (cont'd) 

Think about it. He started it all. 

German agents dealt it to the British 
troops -who went’ crazy on it. 90% of 
all dollar bills show traces of it. 

Monkeys pass up food and- sex for it. 

It's -the amazing elixir of life. Dr. 

Freud, he got it from his dentist, his 
dealer, gave it to him as an 
anaesthetic. Dr. Freud thought most 
of our diseases are caused by brain 
exhaustion. Long before it was 
fashionable, he was .snorting it around 
the -clock. '. He ‘rewrote my life's 
. history and turned it into a nightmare 
. : • ‘ : of childish, sexual fantasy from 

everyday -life M've become a symbol 
• *• . of .'sexual .-perversion-. '■ Yes, indeed, 

• • -■ pity’ me. ' -They. 'don't call it .the 

Fr’eudian sniff for nothing. Dr. 

• " -Freud,’ he- had nasal .sores and 
. ’ * ' bleeding, died. .-a. slow painful death. 

. ■ '-.’-He should'. ve • been writing about his 

own life, le’ft mine, alone. Say what 
•you ‘want about me, I didn't need any 
mood elevators to get to the top 
floor. But I understand his struggle. 

The ride of life is never smooth. 

Life is putting up a lot of iron. You 
take it down and you haul it over the 
road and you set it up again. It's 
grueling and it takes a little 
something to make it easier. I just 
wish he would've written about 
somebody else. Now, if you'll excuse 
me, I need to get back to my guests. 

He walks off. -into the darkness, and we hear a horrific 
crash. 

B. A MAN on the run. He stops in front of Jack Fate. 

They seem to recognize each other. 

MAN ON THE RUN 

They're filming a TV show back there. 

You watch TV for any considerable 
length of time, you think that 
everybody's either rich or that he's 
about to die a horrible death. 

The man takes off again. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: (2) 



69 



C. He walks past a doorway with a sign on it. The sign 
shows a giant chicken chasing a small man. It reads: 
"man-eating chicken. " He opens the doer to reveal an 
average man sitting at a table eating from a bucket of 
fried chicken. He seems surprised by the intrusion. 

Jack closes the door and moves on. 

D. The magician approaches Jack Fate and performs a trick 
for him (e.g. - He pulls a flower from inside his 
jacket . ) 

E. Jack Fate finally winds up in a darkened, empty 
soundstage, except for a solitary man, dressed in old- 
fashioned clothes and carrying a banjo. His face has been 
disfigured, but otherwise he looks like a dandy gone to 
seed. Is he real or ethereal? His name is OSCAR VOGEL. 

JACK FATE 

Excuse me, I got myself all turned 
around. Where's the stage? 

OSCAR VOGEL 

No. You're in the right place. 

JACK FATE 

You look familiar. Do I know you? 

OSCAR VOGEL 

Yes, you do. My name is Oscar Vogel. 

JACK FATE 
Oscar Vogel. 

OSCAR VOGEL 

Do you remember? It was many years 
ago. I was the star of the show here. 

One of the biggest stars. Your father 
would bring you when you were a child. 

I'd put you on the show. You'd play 
your guitar. Sing a song. When I 
heard you were doing a show here, I 
thought you might return the favor. 

Beggar that I am, I am even poor in 
thanks . 

JACK FATE 

I don't know if there's room for 
anybody on the show. You should talk 
to this guy named Uncle Sweetheart. 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: (3) ' 



■ OSCAR VOGEL 

Yes, I remember him, too. He put 

shows on in the past here. I was one 

°f your father' s favorite performers 
once. Everything was going great as 
long as you kept your mouth shut. But 
your father was doing things that were 
wrong. His desire for retaliation and 
. , revenge was too strong, which caused a 
lot of '.injustice, 'lies and bad things. 

-I was the only one. in any position to 
■say . anything . .Everyone else was too 
scared." I had the. show . I had a 
forum.' So, I- s.poke out. It's not 
. what goes', in the mouth, - it's what 
• \ “• ‘ comes, out that, counts . ■ They said it 

..‘‘"was an -‘accident . -'-Some even said it 
wa's- a suicide , Spme people choose to 
.■ die- in all' kinds- o'f-'ways. Some jump 
. . out of . buildings, -and slit their wrists 
on . the . way down. * Some fall on their 
^own .sword. 'I opened my mquth. . . 

‘That's the way it goes. 

JACK .FATE 

How do I get to the stage? 

OSCAR VOGEL 

The stage.- Ah, yes, the stage. The 
whole ' world' s a stage. 

Jack Fate walks past Oscar Vogel into the darkness. We 
hear the sounds of the storm. 

DISSOLVE TO 

INT. PRESIDENTIAL MANSION -DAY 

Outside the President's "bedroom," his staff from high 
ranking loyalists to household help stand vigil, awaiting 
the inevitable end. From inside the bedroom, we hear 
weeping. Then, the curtain is parted. We see the 
President, covered with his sheets. Edmund emerges from 
the room. Some, amongst the gathered, burst into tears. 

EDMUND 

The President is dead. 

Some mutter "long live the President" in response. 



(CONTINUED) 



112 



70 CONTINUED: 



70 



EDMUND (cont'd) 

Thank you. The President was a strong 
and brave man who's principles and 
beliefs never wavered, and which we 
must continue to strictly adhere to 
and carry out, in accordance with his 
last wishes. As you kno w, we have . 
captured the cultural institutions of 
this country. The institutions that 
shape : the souls of the young. The 
schools, the colleges, the movies, 
music, and the arts. They all belong 
to us now. At the moment, we are 
giving people a new identity, and 
erasing the collective memory. 

We are rewriting the history books. 
Nothing was more important to our 
President than bringing peace to this 
war torn country. Peace, a lasting 
peace, can only be achieved through 
strength. So, in my first act as the 
new President, as the leader of the 
new government, this new regime, we 
will begin to deploy troops 
immediately to the southern regions, 
we will resume the bombing in the 
jungle. We will begin executing and 
enslaving prisoners, and that 
includes those who have preached 
diversity but who have never practiced 
it, and those who decried intolerance 
but were the least tolerant of all. 

We shall deal with them in a harsh 
manner. Remember this, life is a 
chess game, where all the pieces are 
the same color. Your self-discipline 
shall be watched and judged. 
Furthermore, we will alert the rebel 
leaders that the negotiations have 
ended. There will be no more 
compromises. No more concessions. 

Only complete and utter and 
unequivocal surrender. We have 
learned a valuable lesson. Great 
nations do not fight small wars. We 
have seen the difference between 
winners and losers. Those who are 
victorious, win first then go to war, 
while the defeated go to war first and 
then seek to win. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



113 



70 CONTINUED: (2) * 70 

• EDMUND (cont'd)' 

There will be no more stupidity. No 
more' mistakes. - It is a new day. God 
help you all. 

He begins to march down the hall, attended to by his new 
staff while his security force begins clearing the room 
of mourners. We hear the storm raging. 



CUT TO: 



■ * . * 

NEWS FOOTAGE: -Salne as the opening montage. Political 

unrest and violence, natural .disasters, etc. Change is 
occurring whether we want it or not. 

71 . EXT.‘ -STREET 71 



We see" the homeless - 'man in t-he-rain, leaning up against 
'the wall .'with his v broken- boom ’box. We'*hear- the sound of 
Edmund's speech emanating from it. 

' ’ ’ ■ 7 •’ ■ ■ * ‘ CUT TO: 

72 INT . • SOUNDSTAGE * ! t 72 



MONTAGE (MOS) To the opening strains of "Cold Irons 
Bound" * * 



•1. Director and technicians in the booth, ready for 
broadcast, but the monitors show nothing but static and 
they can't fix it. 



2. Nina Veronica enters urgently, sees the broadcast 
transmission difficulties and gets on the phone to Lucius 
and his flunkies. There is no answer. 



3. Uncle Sweetheart, alone in the dressing room, drinking 
heavily. 



3a. Tom Friend and Pagan Lace outside the SOUNDSTAGE, 
immersed in a horrible, physical argument in the rain. 

.4. Bobby Cupid asleep in a remote, dark corner of the 
SOUNDSTAGE. He hears the opening riff of the song, 
awakens,* and steps onto the stage where all the workers 
. and others dance and gyrate and genuflect to this Swamp 
'Boogie Tent revival show. 



CUT TO: 



INT. SOUNDSTAGE 



73 



Jack and the band playing "Cold Irons Bound." 

Lyrics 

I'm beginning to hear voices and there's no one around 

Well, I'm all used up and the fields have turned brown 

I went to church on Sunday and she passed by 

My love for her is taking such a long time to die 

I'm waist deep, waist deep in the mist 

It's almost like, almost like I don't exist 

I'm twenty miles out of town, in cold irons bound 

The walls of pride are high and wide 

Can't see over to the other side 

It' s such a sad thing to see beauty decay 

It's sadder still, to feel your heart torn away 

One look at you and I'm out of control 

Like the universe has swallowed me whole 

I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 

There's too many people, too many to recall 

I thought some of 'n were friends of mine; I was wrong 
about 'n all 

Well, the road is rocky and the hillside's mud 
Up over my head nothing but clouds of blood 
I found my world, found my world in you 
But your love just hasn't proved true 
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 
Twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 



(CONTINUED) 



115 



* 






73 CONTINUED: ■ ’ : - 73 

% • ' 

Oh, the winds, in Chicago have torn me to shreds 
Reality has always had too many heads 
Some things last longer 'that you think they will 
There are some kind of things you can never kill 
It's you and you only, I'm been thinking about 
But you can' t see in and .it' s .hard lookin' out 
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 
Well the f ats; in" .the fire and the water's in the tank 
The whiskey's in the /jar • and* the money / s in the bank 
I tried to love and'*protect you because I cared 
.I'm gonna 'remember forever ( . the joy that we shared 
Looking at* you and I'm on my bended knee 
You have no idea what you do to me 
I'm twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 
.Twenty miles out of town in cold irons bound 
As Jack repeats- the -last line again and again, we 

CUT TO: 

74 INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY 74 

As the army bursts in, breaking up the show, taking 
prisoners, . harassing and injuring innocent people. A 
small group of soldiers burst into the booth and take a 
struggling Nina Veronica into custody. The plug is 
.pulled. ’In the midst of the madness: 

VENTRILOQUIST'S DUMMY 
That song makes so much psychological 
sense. It doesn't pander or talk down 
to anyone. And it's got a great 
melody. 



(CONTINUED) 




CONTINUED: 



74 



VENTRILOQUIST 
I'm sorry, what? 



FADE OUT. 

INT. SOUNDSTAGE - LATER - DAY ' 

As people pick through the rubble trying to 'make sense of 
the senseless violence, an inebriated Uncle Sweetheart is 
hitting on Pagan Lace, who is picking up shards and 
relics like collecting shells on the beach. She is not 
listening to Uncle Sweetheart. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

We' re living in a tawdry and vulgar 
age. What do you think? 

PAGAN LACE 

(distracted by her task) 

Yes, we are. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

You . know when the Roman empire fell? 

You know what Caesar and the rest of 
them Romans were doing when the 
barbarians were at the gates? 

PAGAN LACE 

What? 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Shooting craps and gambling. 

PAGAN LACE 

Gambling's a waste of time and energy. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

If you wanna build a casino, you gotta 
build it like a fortress in case 
there's a police raid. 

PAGAN LACE 

I suppose. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Can I offer you a drink? Wanna be 
sociable? 



PAGAN LACE 
I don't drink. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED 



75 



. • ■ Uncle -sweetheart (cont'd) 

One’ little sip of nectar. 

PAGAN LACE 

I said I don't drink; 

i 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 
Come on, you're not on duty. 

■ .PAGAN LACE 
• I told you before, no. 

* " UNCLE. -SWEET HE ART 

. ■ Come on, you can get to the truth of 

things*. . 'Discover the riches of a wise 
, ‘ * ■. • -and* good life. * . 

• ' ' •> ■■■■' . * 

*■ ■ */■ ' -PAGAN LACE . 

• • ’ ‘ Thanks, 1*11 stay. as. -.1 am. 

. ■ UNCLE '.SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Don't you want to -.live forever? Put 
some’ liquor in your blood. 

Uncle Sweetheart tries to force the drink on her. She 
resists mightily. A minor struggle ensues. Tom Friend 
.enters. He is clearly. medicated. 

TOM FRIEND 

She don't want a drink. 

Uncle Sweetheart and Pagan Lace uncouple. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Oh, look who's here. The sultan of 
sleaze." The thing that came from 
outer space. Where' d you come from, 
the world's fair? We're having a 
conversation here. 

TOM FRIEND 

You've had your day and there's no 
■ more conversation. 

PAGAN LACE 

It's okay. 



(CONTINUED) 



118 



75 CONTINUED: (2) 



75 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Look, I was selling porn magazines out 
of the trunk of my car before you were 
born. Don't tell me I've had my day. 

TOM FRIEND 

It is your day. Now, drag your 
swollen self out of here. Get away 
from her. 



UNCLE SWEETHEART 

You're the scum of all scum. You 
should never have been born, you 
pickled punk. 

With that, Tom Friend slowly and methodically takes a 
chair and smashes Uncle Sweetheart. He grabs Uncle 
Sweetheart's collar and starts to strangle him. Pagan 
grabs Tom Friend and starts to scream. 

PAGAN LACE 
Tom, don't, don't. 

TOM FRIEND 

No, I'm gonna win you a prize. 

PAGAN LACE 

Tom — 

■ TOM FRIEND 

(choking Uncle Sweetheart) 

I just hit the lotto jackpot. Won the 
booby prize. A dead dog. 

In the midst of this tense scene. Jack Fate wanders past 
with his old guitar. He is clearly leaving. Although 
he'd rather not, he can't help but see what's 
transpiring. We see him. at this crossroads. He starts 
to leave again, but can't. He stops, considers his 
options. He knows he has none. Reluctantly , but 
inevitably, he approaches the conflict. He steps up to 
Tom Friend and pushes him back. 

JACK FATE 

He's done nothing to you. 

Tom Friend and Uncle Sweetheart stop struggling as Tom 
Friend turns to Jack Fate. 



(CONTINUED) 



CONTINUED: (3) ' r 



75 



TOM FRIEND 
(incredulous) 

You're gonna try to protect him? 

You're gonna try to kill me? That 
sack of shit? That wooden-faced 
moron? I wouldn't spit on him. Him 
and his. mucky, lying tongue. He 
screwed you over just, like everybody 
■ else. ■■ 

Jack Fate and -Tom .Friend grapple . Jack Fate pushes an 
uneasy .Torn Friend, -who -trips' over a chair and falls. 

Jack Fate " breaks -a bottle, holds it to Tom Friend's 
'throat.- He's, go-t his foot. ; on his chest. He suddenly 
backs .'off- ■ Tom Friend/ as he gets up, pulls out a 
pistol.. He aims first .at* 'Sweetheart, then at Fate, but 
hesitates.' He.- hears the woirds.of the fortune teller: 
Someone is -praying that, you'll'. escape this trap . Victory 
comes from .avoiding it . altogether or running swiftly from 
it ........ Just then/ in- Tom' -Friend' s moment of doubt and 

hesitation Bobby' Cupid'.comes out of nowhere with Blind 
Lemon' s ■ guitar and smashes Tom Friend repeatedly until 
Tom Friend falls, and all that's left of the guitar is 
the neck. Bobby Cupid' then plunges the jagged edge of 
the neck into Tom Friend, - as the others look on, sprayed 
and splattered with Tom Friend's blood. Pagan Lace 
screams by the fallen, dying body of Tom Friend. She 
lies on top of him and weeps. 

PAGAN 

Tom! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! 

TOM FRIEND 
(faint whisper) 

Once when I was passing a cathedral, a 
white dove came flying by and dropped 
a twig it was carrying in its beak at 
my feet. Poetry, painting and music. 

It's funny. I never thought about 
• those things until now. 

He dies.. Pagan Lace looks up. She hears — nothing. 

She smiles and hugs Tom Friend's lifeless body. We hear 
the sound of sirens in the distance. The two crew guys 
approach and kneel down to check Tom's pulse. 

CREW GUY #1 

This guy's gone. Somebody better call 
the meat wagon. 



(CONTINUED) 



120 



75 CONTINUED: (4) 



75 



JACK FATE 
(to Bobby Cupid) 

You better get out of here. Go out 
the back way. 

BOBBY CUPID 
You coming, too? 

JACK FATE 
I'm staying here. 

He hands Bobby Cupid his own guitar. Bobby takes it, 
they exchange a glance, and Bobby is off. Uncle 
Sweetheart is distraught. Jack comforts him. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

Ah, man. I didn't realize it would 
come down like this. 

JACK FATE 
How would you know? 

The soldiers enter holding Nina at gunpoint. 

POLICEMAN #2 

All right? Everybody stay where you 
are. Anybody see anything? 

There is silence. They prod Nina with their rifles. 

NINA 

I saw it. I saw it all. I was right 
there. He did it. 

She points at Jack Fate. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

What?! 

Pagan Lace looks up, confused, but doesn't say anything. 

JACK FATE 
That's okay. 

NINA 

Yeah, he did it. I was there. I saw 
it all. He's responsible. It might 
have been a random act, but you know 
what? You can put his whole life on 
trial . 



(CONTINUED) 




121 



75 CONTINUED: ' (5) • .. 75 

They put the -cuffs on Jack and lead him away. Nina is 
freed. She exchanges a glance with Jack Fate and exits. 
Uncle Sweetheart kneels down next to Pagan Lace and 
begins' to rifle through. Tom Friend's pockets. He finds 
money and valuables, but then decides not to keep them. 

He throws them back down on the body and sighs. 

UNCLE SWEETHEART 

There's. so much love, light, beauty, 

•humor and happiness in the. world. 

Everything is always" right there, but 
■ you can't see it'.:. * Sometimes, after 
'/ - awhile .there' s’’ no -nothing. It all 

comes ' .down ’ to -that. 

< . . . ■ • ■ , ‘ 

.Pagan Lace takes pity on -Undle " Sweetheart . She takes his 
bottle -from -him ahd in-'.an act of compassion, connection, 
ahd;'ev’en liberation takes a- -drink. PERCY and BLUNT 
-.appear-.- Uncle . Sweetheart se'eS' them. 

■ * r' -'- ■ UNCLE’ SWEETHEART (cont'd) 

Ah, -yeah. 

; PERCY 

For everything in life you do, 

SweetKeart, there's a price. You pay 
it up front, in the beginning, or you 
pay it at the back-end. 

They lead him away. We can hear the sirens and commotion 
outside. The two crew guys gather their tools. 

CREW GUY #1 
Bugles of madness. 

CREW GUY #2 
What'd you say? 

CREW GUY #1 

. Nothing. I didn't say nothing. I 
didn't see nothing. I don't know 
nothing. 

CREW GUY #2 

Yeah, well. That's a good way to be. 

It' s better to know nothing than to 
think you know something that isn't 
so . 



(CONTINUED) 




122 



75 CONTINUED: (6) 



They exit. 

CUT TO: 

76 EXT. SOUNDSTAGE FACILITY - DAY 

As the doors open and bright sunlight floods in we follow 
Jack Fate into the police car and the police car as it 
drives away. 



CUT TO: 

77 EXT./INT. POLICE CAR -DAY 

As it drives away, it gets caught in a massive traffic 
jam. Up ahead, we see why. It's a siate funeral for 
Jack's father, the President. The slow procession 
marches down the boulevard. In back. Jack Fate observes 
the funeral procession as it passes. Finally, there is a 
break in the funeral procession and the police car drives 
through. We hear the preacher on the radio. 

RADIO PREACHER (V.O.) 

God has turned his back on this 
nation... The same god that creates the 
diseases and- the plagues, also creates 
the medicines and the cures ... Gods , 
being invulnerable, they cannot have 
nobility. They do not know self- 
sacrifice .. .God does not suffer... He 
doesn't feel pain... He is not a 
courageous God... Human beings can be 
courageous or cowardly. Neither of 
these make up any of god's nature. 

The gods don’t determine outcome. 

They control passions. That’s how 
they get people to do their 
bidding. . .Man has the mind of God, but 
the body of dust. . .All of humankind is 
a slave race and was meant to be from 
the beginning. . .Will man destroy the 
earth to move on? Is that his 
destiny? We'll wait to find 
out. . .What nourishes gods? The smell 
of fear. The gods get fat on 
fear... These gods left before the 
Bible was written. 

(MORE) 



(CONTINUED) 



123 



CONTINUED: '* ^ pR£ACHER (cont , d) 

Man was left on. his own and yet that 
is not -the end of it. Ask yourselves 
a question, people. Are you humb e 
before god?. 

PULL OUT/ as the police car drives away, past the funeral 
procession. 

JACK FATE (V.O.) 

...I -was always a singer and maybe no 
'more than that. Sometimes it's not 
’■ enough to know ‘the meaning of things. 

• Sometimes we' have 'to . know what things 
. ■' ‘don't 'mean -as well.' .-Like, what does 
it mean to not know what the person 
: • '■-.■■■■.you love -is capable -of? Things fall 

' * ». * 'apart, .especially- .all’ the neat order 

• *• ■/• * of 1 rules .a’nd'-laws. The way we look at 

■ ■■■' ' the -world is - the . way we really are. 

' 'see it '.from -a. fair garden, everything 

looks ..cheerful'. /.Climb to a higher 
mountain, ‘and you see plunder and 
'murder.. Truth and beauty -are xn trie 
eye of the beholder. I stopped trying 
to figure everything out a long time 



MUSIC 



: "Cold Irons Bound" (reprise) 



FADE OUT 



THE END